


Genesis

by VelkynKarma



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Blood, Gen, Injury, Legend of Legaia AU, PTSD, incidental oc character deaths in the background, may add other chapters in the future, minor OC character death, minor creepy elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-06
Updated: 2018-04-28
Packaged: 2019-04-18 15:30:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 32,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14216199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VelkynKarma/pseuds/VelkynKarma
Summary: Part One: Ten years ago the Mist came, the Seru changed, and humanity came nearly to the brink of extinction. Pidge has never known any other life than this—but when Shiro comes back from the outside with a warning and a strange Seru on his right arm, she wonders if everything she's ever known will start to change.Part Two: When the Mist came, Hunk's village retreated to the heart of Balmera Mountain to survive. Ten years in the deepest depths of the earth have been hard, especially for Lance, but at least the Seru can't reach them. Except the Mist has started to press deeper, and with the village's survival at risk, perhaps only Lance's tall tales of a three-eyed lion can save them.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> For PlatonicVLDWeek, Spring Edition! Day 6, "AU"!
> 
> This is a totally self-indulgent AU from one of my favorite PS1 games. If you've never even heard of it (which is many people), don't worry—playing isn't necessary to understanding this fic.

“There’s someone at the gate!”  
  
“That can’t be right. Are the hunters back early?”  
  
Pidge looks up from the family garden with a frown, and brushes soil off of her fingers hastily. Even a tiny distraction was enough to pull her attention from this particular chore—she hated messing around in the garden, with all the dirt and bugs and inevitable sunburn and backache. But that cry would have dragged her from even the greatest concentration, the kind she only really achieves when she’s buried in the Elder’s old scrolls and books of times gone past.  
  
It’s only midday. There shouldn’t be anybody at the gate, or outside the wall. The winds shouldn’t have changed yet. The Mist shouldn’t have turned, yet.  
  
Has it?  
  
She doesn’t see the tops of the orchard trees swaying, and that’s enough to tell her the wind is still in their favor, blowing strongly from the ocean at the village of Garrison’s back. So who could be at the gate? Outside the wall? Dread grips her heart. Had someone been injured?  
  
It’s the only thing left that she can think of that might cause a banging at the gate at this time of day, but by the gods, she never wants to experience _that_ terror again. Not even if there’s no one out there left that she’s particularly close to. Not like just over a year ago, not when her father and Matt had…  
  
She squeezes her eyes shut against the memory. Father had been an older hunter…mother had been pestering him to retire soon. He’d insisted he couldn’t, not until Matt had fully grasped the ropes and taken on the family legacy. Even if hunting was communal, and the game was shared around the entire village, it was still important for each family to contribute somehow.  
  
Matt was a new hunter, freshly ascended into adulthood and his first venture outside the walls only eight months prior to that. He’d been so proud of himself. Father had been so proud of him, too. Pidge and her mother had worked together to make his first set of hunting clothes. He’d been doing well on the outside. Father had expected to retire at the end of the year, confident that Matt would represent the Holts with honor.  
  
But just over a year ago, they’d gone out with the rest of the hunting party, and never come back.  
  
There’d been no bodies to return to the ocean. No funeral rites to prepare. No way to say goodbye. The Mist had turned suddenly, and the Seru had come out of it, crazed and violent. No human could stand against a Seru, not in the state the Mist drove it to. The hunters had reported running, doing what they could to protect each other. It was only when they’d reached the walls of Garrison that they’d realized some of their number were missing.  
  
To Pidge, it meant they were still alive out there, somewhere. She would never know for certain. It was impossible for humans to travel the Mist safely. She’d been trying to find answers, secrets in the Elder’s old books and scrolls from generations before the Mist ever came, but she had yet to succeed.  
  
She hopes fleetingly that the person at the gate is Matt, or her father, or maybe even both of them at once. But she doubts she could be so lucky. If there’s one thing she’s ever learned, living surrounded by Mist, it’s that the world is never fair.  
  
Still, she doesn’t intend to sit around waiting for answers. She climbs to her feet, brushing soil off of her skirts, and scrambles quickly for the main gate. The garden can wait. If someone is injured…this might be her only chance to try and help, or to say goodbye.  
  
The Garrison wall towers over her as she runs down the main square of the village towards the gate. The Mist had come ten years ago, and the wall had been built shortly thereafter to protect them from it. They had been lucky—Garrison had been coastal, and far enough from wherever the Mist came from that the ocean winds could sometimes push it back and buy them time to survive. Pidge doesn’t remember it being built; she’d only been five at the time, too small to remember it or anything before the Mist. As far as Pidge is concerned, it’s always been there.  
  
The wall is both safe and constricting. Some days she hates not being able to see into the far distance, or go anywhere she wants to explore. But at nights, when the Mist is at its thickest, when she can hear the Seru scratching and crawling around on the other side, she’s never been more grateful for its presence.  
  
Right now it’s more annoying than anything else, because there’s already a crowd at the gate, and she can’t see around them or circle to get closer. “Back!” the Elder orders the crowd, as Pidge gets closer. “Step back. At once. If it’s the hunters we must give them room to move, if someone is injured.”  
  
The people grudgingly step back, leaving a semicircle around the gate. Pidge’s heart sinks a little at the Elder’s proclamation. It’s probably not a good sign if he thinks somebody’s hurt, too. But even so, she wiggles her way in between two ex-hunters a little older than her father, and finds a space where she can see.  
  
One of the retired hunters opens the gate at the Elder’s nod, and warily peers outside. Then he gasps. Pidge isn’t sure what to expect—perhaps for the Mist to drift in and bring the Seru with it, or perhaps for their hunting party to come shuffling in, bearing litters of their fallen.  
  
The last thing in the world she expects is to see Takashi Shirogane stagger through the gate as the retired hunter finishes opening it.  
  
“Shiro!” several of the villagers gasp. Their shock is echoed on Pidge’s face. Shiro hasn’t been seen in over a year. He’d gone on his first hunt with Matt over a year ago, and had disappeared on the same fateful day that the others had, when the Mist had turned on them suddenly. He had never been seen again. Everyone had thought him dead, or turned into a Seru monster, aimlessly wandering the Mists.  
  
He’s certainly not dead—although he looks like he’s getting there, if Pidge were to judge. His entire body quivers with weakness and exhaustion, and his left hand is braced against the wall as he struggles to hold himself up. His breathing is harsh and ragged, and his face and unfamiliar style of armor and clothing are gashed from a number of wounds. Some injuries look even older than that, like the gash across his face—and his hair was always black before, but now his bangs are stark white.  
  
But most frightening is his right arm—because he’s wearing a Seru.  
  
Pidge takes an automatic step backwards the moment she sees it, and most of the crowd recoils with her. All her life she’d been taught the dangers of the Seru, and to see one here inside the walls is frightening. Even if they had once been gifts of the gods, figurines and jewelry designed to enhance humans and give them feats greater than any man or woman was capable of on their own, the Mists had long since changed that. The Seru were evil now. They’d been mutated into something cruel and wrong, and where they had once obeyed humans and lived with them in harmony, now they killed and enslaved them.  
  
Before Pidge had even learned to read, she’d learned her most important lesson: never, ever put on a Seru. If you did and the Mists reached you, you were doomed to a life as a mindless, shambling monster.  
  
So Pidge has never actually _seen_ anyone wearing a Seru—there are no longer any in the village—but there’s no doubt in her mind that the thing on Shiro’s right arm is exactly that. It coats his entire arm in a glossy black and gray sheen, like a shell that goes from his fingertips to halfway up to his shoulder. It looks almost frighteningly organic, in a way, like an insect’s carapace or the hard shell of a turtle. A few darker purple ridges protrude along its surface, like growing spines. Only one notable feature really stands out on, it, though: a small, glimmering little gold gem set just over the back of Shiro’s Seru-covered hand.  
  
“He’s possessed!” a villager in the crowd yells.  
  
“Get him out, before he kills us all!” another shrieks. Several more people are already backing away, or shaking in fear.  
  
The older hunter that had opened the gate leaps forward to try and shut it and force Shiro out, although Pidge can see even from here his hands are shaking. He’s terrified to go near Shiro, and the Seru on his arm.  
  
But then they get their second shock, because Shiro looks up, and gasps, “No, no, I—I won’t hurt you. I swear. Please. Please listen.”  
  
His voice is hoarse and warped. He sounds like he hasn’t had water in a long time, or spoken in ages. But he _spoke._  
  
Humans possessed by malevolent Seru never speak. Not according to the stories Pidge has heard, and the things she’s read. They’re mindless. They can groan, or whimper, and survivors have even written of a few babbling nonsensically. Stories say it’s possible to see glimmers of sadness, resignation, fear or pain in a possessed human’s eyes. But they don’t speak. They don’t remember how. They aren’t human enough to, not anymore.  
  
“Shiro?” the Elder asks, after a long moment. “Is…is that really you?”  
  
“Yes,” Shiro whispers. He leans more heavily against the wall, now that he’s not about to be immediately shoved out the door.  
  
The crowd shifts with nervous energy, but then suddenly bursts into questions. “Where have you been?”  
“How did you survive?”  
  
“What happened to you?”  
  
“Why are you wearing a _Seru?”_  
  
“Where are the others?” Pidge tries to ask, frantic. If Shiro could make it back, Matt and her father could, too. But she doesn’t see them behind him in the gateway, and her question is drowned out by the others taking up the call about the Seru.  
  
“Where did that Seru _come_ from? Why do you have one? Why aren’t you _crazy_ from it?”  
  
“This Seru won’t hurt you,” Shiro says. His voice shakes from effort. Pidge wonders how injured he is. How exhausted. “Please, let me in. We have to prepare. An attack is coming….the Genesis Tree…”  
  
He takes a weak, shaky step forward. Even despite his reassurances that he means no harm, the crowd backs away cautiously. Shiro looks pained by this, and reaches out to them pleadingly with his free—Seru-covered—hand, but that only frightens people further. “Please, we don’t have much time,” he whispers. “We…we have to protect…”  
  
He takes one more step forward, but his legs finally give out beneath him and he buckles, hitting the ground. The crowd recoils in surprise, but Shiro doesn’t move from his crumpled position on the ground, eyes rolled back into his head.  
  
After a moment they remember themselves. “Close the gate,” the Elder orders, and the old hunter leaps forward to do just that, slamming it shut with Shiro now safely inside. Allys, the old village healer, crouches next to Shiro and places two fingers against his neck.  
  
“He lives,” she says after a moment. “Although to what extent, I do not know.” She regards the Seru on Shiro’s arm like it’s made of acid. For all Pidge knows, it could be—deadly in some manner to anyone that touches it.  
  
“Will the Seru come off?” the Elder asks, after a moment.  
  
No one looks happy about trying to find the answer, but after a moment the old hunter steps forward, wraps his hands in his hunting vest, and tries to tug the Seru off of Shiro’s arm. It doesn’t burn him at the touch with poison or fire or electricity, nor do the spines growing up Shiro’s arm stab or strike. But the Seru does not come off, and although they search, they find no way to unlatch or detach it.  
  
No one pushes too hard to do so. Pidge isn’t surprised. Although she’s never seen a Seru-possessed human, it’s supposed to be deadly to remove a Seru from them in the Mists. The Seru integrate their life forces with the human they attach to, somehow; removing one means killing the other. They aren’t in the Mists, but this Seru is strange. Forcing it off could kill Shiro, and no one wants to risk his death—not after he’d returned to them from the grave after over a year.  
  
The Elder presses his lips together in a thin line. “Take him to Oryx’s hut,” he says finally. “Allys, you will treat his wounds—I will let no member of this village go injured if it is within our power to do so. But Koros and Theden will join you as protection, and when you are finished, lock him inside. I do not wish for him to die, but I will not put the rest of the village in jeopardy either, and I do not trust that Seru.”  
  
The villagers nod in agreement, and Koros and Theden rush off to collect one of the litters from the healer’s hut. As they return, the Elder adds, “The rest of you, go back to your daily tasks. The hunters won’t be back for hours, and there are still things to attend to.”  
  
The villagers grumble, but break up into small groups and head back to their work. There’s a thousand small tasks to manage to keep everyone in the village fed, clothed and healthy, and despite the excitement, everyone knows their part. Some glance uneasily back over their shoulders at the prone Shiro—or more specifically, his Seru-covered arm—but they obey.  
  
Pidge doesn’t move. She watches as Koros and Theden lay out the litter next to Shiro and carefully shift his unconscious form onto it. They’re wary of the Seru, and Shiro’s arm hangs awkwardly off the side of the litter, but they aren’t unkind and treat him and his injuries as gently as they can. As they finally lift it and begin to head off, Pidge falls into step behind them and Allys.  
  
“Katie,” The Elder calls sternly. “Back to your tasks.”  
  
“But it’s _Shiro,”_ Pidge protests. “If he came back, my family could have too! They could still be alive out there, somewhere!”  
  
“Questions we will address in due time,” the Elder promises. “But for now, you have work to attend to.”  
  
“Nothing that can’t wait,” Pidge says. “I want to be there when he wakes up.”  
  
“Katie,” The Elder says, more sternly this time. “I cannot allow it. I am overjoyed to see that Shiro is back with us, and alive after we thought he had perished in the Mists. But that Seru is dangerous. Until we understand what happened, I will allow no one near him that does not need to be—including you.”  
  
“But my _father_ —and _Matt_ —“  
  
“Enough, Katie,” the Elder says. “I will speak to your mother, if I must. I am the Elder of this village. My word is final. No one will be permitted to see Shiro until the hunters return tonight, and a village council can be held to address the situation.”  
  
Pidge knows that tone. If she pushes any harder, she’ll never be allowed to see Shiro, and she absolutely can’t afford that. “Fine,” she grumbles. “As you say, Elder.”  
  
“Very good. Now run along, back to work.”  
  
Pidge obediently leaves—at first, until she feels the Elder’s eyes finally leave her back. But she’s too wound up to even think about going back to kneeling in the dirt digging at beans and carrots, and the moment she’s around the bend of the village and out of sight of the Elder, she changes direction.  
  
Garrison isn’t large. There’s not many places she can go to hide, or think, and she’s still stewing over Shiro’s return. His re-entrance plays through her head over and over, and one thing always stands out. He’d warned about an attack…and he’d mentioned the Genesis Tree.  
  
Without needing to think about it further, she does an abrupt turn and heads for the orchard.  
  
Garrison’s Genesis Tree is a bit of an oddity. Supposedly the village had grown up around it once it was discovered, and settlers had been attracted to its mysticism. Legend had it that the Genesis Trees were gifts from the gods, sent to save humanity in a time of need.  
  
Pidge isn’t so sure she buys it. If ever humanity was in a time of need, it was now, and had been for the past ten years. Their Genesis Tree had never bothered to save them. No, more likely than not the legends sprung up because of their odd appearance—smooth and crystalline and a pretty pale green, they certainly looked more than a little unearthly.  
  
But the tree is calming, in its own way. Garrison’s Genesis Tree is at the very center of their fruit orchards. The Elders tell stories of the trees that sustain them springing up around the offering of the gods when it was first planted, an offshoot of that mighty power. The orchards are usually quiet, unless being tended to or during harvest season, but the very center around the Genesis Tree itself is quite peaceful even then. People often come to pray to it, hoping it will carry a message to Tieg to save them.  
  
Pidge doesn’t bother to pray to the tree. Her belief in religion had been skeptical at best even before her father and brother were taken, and after…well, faith had seemed pointless, after that. But she does like to come to the tree to think or cool down, when she’s frustrated. And Shiro had specifically mentioned it in his exhausted, pained ramblings.  
  
“What did he want with you?” she asks the tree idly, staring at it.  
  
It doesn’t look like much. Even with its pretty green crystal trunk, it’s easy to see this Genesis Tree is withering. Pidge has never seen it bloom, and even the oldest members of the village say it’s always looked like this, even before the Mist. Standing around it might be soothing, and it’s nice to look at, but she doesn’t see how this thing ever could have saved humanity in their darkest hour.  
  
She sighs. Well, that wasn’t what she was here for, anyway.  
  
She needs a way to speak with Shiro. Sooner, rather than later. It will still be hours before he wakes, judging by his injuries, but by then the hunters will be back and the Elder will be calling his council meeting. It could take hours for them to decide what to do about Shiro, well into the night, and even then, they probably won’t let him out until tomorrow morning. The Mist is always strongest at night, and so are the insane Seru that roam outside. She doesn’t think the Elder will take chances.  
  
But Pidge can’t wait that long. Her father and brother could be out there right now, as badly injured as Shiro had been when he showed up. They could need help. Shiro was the only one who might have the answers. And he had a way to survive even in the Mists, somehow…if he knows the secret to that, she _has_ to learn it. If she can go out their and search for her father and Matt, she has to.  
  
She can’t wait for the Elder and the village council-folk to debate over the pros and cons of Shiro and his strange Seru-arm. The choice seems clear to her. They _have_ to trust him. It’s frustrating to think they would waste so much time over this.  
  
Well, she won’t. She’ll sneak over to Oryx’s hut tonight, at night. Whether or not the council makes a decision, they’ll be too frightened to approach Shiro and his mysterious Seru in the dark. The thought is a little frightening to Pidge, too, but the soothing presence of the Genesis Tree dampens those fears. The risk is worth it. For her father, for her brother, it will _always_ be worth it.  
  
She presses a hand against the smooth, crystalline surface of the Genesis Tree, and stares at her green-tinted reflection in its otherworldly surface. “I’m going to find them,” she pledges to it. “I’ll find the answers, and I’ll use them to save my family. That’s a promise to myself.”  
  
The Genesis Tree doesn’t answer, but it’s suppose to keep thoughts and prayers for people and make them stronger. Maybe it will strengthen her promise, too.  
  
There’s nothing left to do there, so she heads back home. She can’t arouse suspicion, and the Elder is probably keeping a tacit eye on her somehow if she vanishes for too long. Tonight, she’ll have her answers. She just has to last until then.  
  
It’s hard to act normal, for the rest of the day. She does the same old tasks as always, but it’s difficult not to fidget with nervous energy, or get distracted thinking over the best route to Oryx’s hut or which questions to ask first. She forces herself to focus, if only to not look suspicious. She finishes her chores in the garden, sweeps their hut, helps her mother take down the drying laundry and fold it from the lines outside, and finally helps to prepare dinner.  
  
It’s ready just in time for the hunters, and Pidge heads out to greet them as always. She watches with the other anxious villagers and counts to make sure all hunters made it back that day. The head count that files through the gate is the same number as the one that left, and Pidge breathes a sigh of relief at that, along with her mother and everyone else.  
  
At night, she does the same as always. The Elder has given her special permissions to remove one book or scroll at a time from the village records, and she reads through another chapter of old chronicles so as not to raise her mother’s suspicions. She barely interprets the words in the book, though, and finds herself rereading several paragraphs over and over without progress.  
  
Eventually she claims fatigue, and slips into the bedroom her and her brother had shared in their hut, wearily closing the door. The moment she does, she finds the little clockwork toy her brother had made her out of spare bits of supplies the hunters had scavenged years ago, and winds it carefully. It should wake her in about three hours—enough time to give her some rest, and convince her mother she’s really asleep. She can muffle the sound under her pillow, and be able to slip away in the middle of the night without anyone the wiser.  
  
She slips into a an exhausted sleep fueled by tension, anxiously awaiting the moment the little clockwork toy will wake her.  
  
It never does. Instead, two and a half hours later, the rumbling _bang_ outside is enough to jolt her upright out of a dead sleep.  
  
Startled, Pidge sits still and listens. For a moment she’s sure she only imagined the noise in her dreams, but then it comes again: a thundering _bang_ from the direction of the gate.  
  
She leaps out of bed and heads for the door, flinging it open just her mother leaves her own room. “What _is_ that?” Pidge asks, wide-eyed. The _bang_ comes a third time, and she can feel the faintest tremor of it with her bare feet on the floorboards. Whatever it is, it’s not the hunters knocking at the gate—not at this hour, and not when she can feel it from here.  
  
“I don’t know,” her mother whispers. To Pidge’s horror, she realizes her mother looks _scared_. Her mother is so strong—the strongest woman Pidge has ever known. She’d been strong enough to survive when the Mist came, and strong enough to pick up the pieces and carry on after her husband and son had vanished forever. Pidge didn’t think anything could frighten her mother—until now.  
  
The _bang_ comes again, and once again she feels the faint tremors against her bare feet. That and her mother’s wide-eyed expression is enough to fuel her resolve. “I’ll find out what it is,” she says, ducking back into her and Matt’s room. “Let me just get out of these nightclothes.”  
  
She _almost_ reaches for her usual skirt and blouse. At the last moment, she changes her mind, and rifles through Matt’s old things until she finds his first set of hunter’s clothes—the ones mother and Pidge had made for him as a gift, for his first hunt. He’d had a major growth spurt in his months of hunting before he’d disappeared and needed a new set, but these old ones fit Pidge fairly well.  
  
Maybe it’s foolish, but the thundering _bangs_ still rumbling up through her feet from the gate leave her uneasy. Whatever’s going on, she has a gut feeling it’s not good, and it will be a lot easier to deal with it if she can run and fight.  
  
“Be careful, Katie,” her mother warns, as she pulls on Matt’s old boots at the door. She hands over a hunting knife—leftover from Pidge’s father—and it’s enough to tell Pidge her mother suspects something bad too. “If that noise means danger—come right back. We can lock the door. It might hold until the morning when the ocean winds drive the Mists away.”  
  
“I promise, I’ll be careful,” Pidge says, taking the knife and sheathing it at her hip. Then, impulsively, she throws her arms around her mother in a strong hug, clinging tightly for just a moment before letting go.  
  
She cracks the door open carefully, but nothing lunges at her. Another _bang_ reverberates through the air and through the ground, louder and stronger now, reminding Pidge of her mission. She closes the door behind her carefully and darts off through the dark, looking around warily for anything dangerous.  
  
She doesn’t see any attackers, but she does see scores of villagers, emerging from their own huts to see what’s going on. Some carry lanterns; others have makeshift weapons. Most of them drift in the direction of the gate, where the ominous banging is getting steadily louder and stronger.  
  
The hunters are gathered in front of the gate itself, with Iverson, their command, at the lead. They’re aren’t nearly as many of them as there should be. With the destruction the Mist caused ten years ago, Garrison consists mostly of older people past their prime who hadn’t been in the thick of the danger, and young children that had been saved or born since. The hunters’ primary task is to provide food for the villagers, but they’re its only able-bodied force of young men and women that the village has to offer, and its only line of defense against attack.  
  
Even Iverson is getting on in years. Between that and the awful eye injury he’d taken from a Seru attack on the hunt, he should have retired a year or two ago by rights, but he’s already barking orders for them to be ready. Many of the hunters clutch their spears, bows and swords grimly. Many more of them look nervous. Although they understood the dangers of their job as hunters, none of them had signed up to face _whatever_ was on the other side of that gate.  
  
The booming grows louder. Then, suddenly, it falls silent. It’s dark, but just for a moment, Pidge swears she sees the silhouette of a dark-robed shape, appearing on the very top off the wall. It raises one clawed hand and points, silently, into the heart of Garrison—but then suddenly it’s gone, and Pidge can’t help but wonder if she’d imagined the figure.  
  
Then she sees the faint green glow on the are far side of the wall, shining over its top, and her eyes go wide.  
  
_“Look out!”_ she tries to scream, but it’s too late. With an almighty crack of stone and the terrifying rumble of destruction, the wall bursts inward as the gate, and a significant portion of the stonework around it, shatters. Stones smash inwards and destroy huts, tear holes in the ground, and injure several hunters and bystanders. The gate becomes a twisted mess of metal and wood.  
  
The hole in the wall gapes like an open wound, and through it Pidge swears, for just a moment, she sees a dozen gleaming green eyes and a mouthful of sharp teeth as tall as she is. But then the hulking shape on the other side melds into the dark, its malevolent green eyes close, and suddenly it’s as though the creature was never there.  
  
And the Mist comes pouring in.  
  
Pidge feels her heart in her throat the moment the first tendrils of Mist pour through the gaping hole in the wall. It’s night, and the Mist is thick and cloying. By itself, it won’t harm any of the villagers—humans can breathe Mist, and it’s not poisonous.  
  
But the Seru that come in it are deadly, and as Pidge watches, they start to swarm through the cracks too.  
  
Once, Seru took on different, useful forms. Pidge had seen illustrations of Seru that gave humans wings, or covered them in thick, protective armor, or made their arms and legs stronger to run long distances or work for many hours tirelessly. Others took on the forms of friendly creatures, designed to help carry, transport, and perform useful tasks to help the humans they served.  
  
Whatever they looked like before, they’re now warped, terrifying shadows of their former selves. The things that pour through the gate aren’t friendly or harmless—they’re monsters. A Seru that looks like a flat square plate with spines and two short spiked tentacles glides after the nearest of the hunters; it outstretches its tentacle arms, and lightning arcs from them, cutting down the hunters where they stand. Another that looks like a ball and chain with sharp cutting spikes on either end slithers through and gleefully sets the nearest huts on fire as it chases after a helpless citizen and gouges them in the back.  
  
Pidge can only watch in horror.  
  
More of the same things pour through the gap, until swarms of them begin to push into the village. The hunters do what they can to repel the invasion, but they aren’t strong enough to fight so many Seru; no human is, not even the fabled monks of Marmora. They’re able to stall enough for the helpless villagers to try and run, but it doesn’t take long for the Seru to overwhelm them.  
  
Some kill mercilessly, dropping hunters and villagers alike where they stand. Others attach themselves to defenseless humans, possessing them completely. Pidge feels like throwing up as she watches one of the fire creatures wrap its long chain-like body around a fleeing villager, burrowing its spines into her skin. The villager stops fleeing as the light leaves her eyes, and she begins to shamble uselessly in circles, groaning softly.  
  
_I can’t fight this,_ Pidge thinks, horrified. _We’re dead. It’s only a matter of time._ She’s far enough back that the Seru haven’t seen her yet, but it won’t take them long to push back through the village towards the ocean.  
  
She thinks about her mother’s order. _Come right back. We can lock the door. It might hold until morning._  
  
But it’s not an option. Pidge knows that door won’t hold. Two huts are already burning; even if they can’t break through, they’ll find a way to kill, one way or another. There’s no escape. This attack had come at the worst moment possible, in the dead of night, when the Mist was strongest, and they had been completely unprepared.  
  
_No,_ she realizes. _Not true. We had warning._  
  
One person _had_ known it was coming. Shiro had tried to warn them. He’d tried, and nobody had listened.  
  
_Shiro!_  
  
Pidge glances over her shoulder. They’d put Shiro in Oryx’s hut, as close to the ocean as possible. With the Elder’s distrust of his odd Seru, that wasn’t surprising; it put him as far away as possible from the Mist, just in case. But it also meant he was at the far end of the village, on the other side of the attack. He might not know what was happening. His guards might not, either. Not until it was too late.  
  
He’d _known._ He’d known something was going to happen. And he’d wanted the Genesis Tree. He’d wanted to protect them. Protect _something._  
  
Maybe he knows how they can live through this.  
  
Pidge swallows, and glances one last time over at the destruction. The Seru are coming closer, but they haven’t seen her yet. There are still too many villagers fighting, or dying, or becoming possessed. She should be helping them.  
  
_But I can’t help them by fighting,_ she tells herself, practically, if painfully. _Dad and Matt had been teaching me, but I’m not strong enough to fight off_ that _many Seru. Shiro might have a way to save all of us. I have to get to him, instead._  
  
Fine, then. If it’s her last act, trying to save her village, it’s still worth it.  
  
Pidge has always been good at sneaking. When she’d played hide and seek with her brother, or Shiro, or even Keith when they’d managed to drag him into it, she’d been the best hider. As they’d grown she’d pushed her skills further, figuring it might be useful on a hunt. She’d only redoubled those efforts after Matt and her father had left, hoping to one day join the hunting trips when she was officially of age. If she took up the spear in Matt’s place, she could search for her family, while also contributing to the village where the Holts had no other hunters to do so anymore.  
  
Now, she uses those skills as best as she can, darting from deepest shadow to deepest shadow, avoiding the thickest pools of Mist. She circles the village at what feels like a frustratingly slow pace, but the Seru don’t see her, and don’t chase. And finally, at last, she reaches Oryx’s hut.  
  
There’s no guard on the outside. Pidge isn’t sure if whichever hunter had been on duty had run in order to help defend the village, or if they’d run to hide. Whatever the case, it just makes her job that much easier. The door is still locked, but Pidge has always been good at fiddling with locks and mechanics, and she’d had enough foresight to take some of her tools with her. It takes a few minutes, but she manages to click the door open, just as the Mist starts to get thicker and the Seru start rounding the corners in the distance.  
  
She shoves the door open—and nearly runs face-first into Shiro.  
  
“Pidge!” he says, startled. He reaches out to steady her automatically when she stumbles backwards. The Seru on his hand closes around her upper arm, and Pidge shudders at the touch, even if she can’t feel it through the thick leather padding of Matt’s hunting clothes. Shiro seems to realize, because he lets go of her immediately.  
  
“You remembered my nickname,” she notes. It seems like a stupid thing to notice in the middle of an attack, but she hasn’t heard anyone else call her ‘Pidge’ since Keith left.  
  
“Of course I did,” Shiro says. “What’s going on? Why did the Elder let you in?”  
  
Pidge shakes her head, brought back to the present. She reaches behind her to slam the door shut, offering at least a small measure of safety. An open invitation to let the Seru attack them is stupid, and even if they can probably destroy the hut, at least they’ll have a few minutes. “He didn’t let me in. The wall’s been destroyed,” she says. She’s a little horrified to find her voice shaking.  
  
“What?” Shiro frowns. He guides her to a chair—careful not to touch her with his Seru-clad arm, this time—and pushes her to sit. “Rest a second. Tell me what happened.”  
  
Pidge regards him carefully. He doesn’t _seem_ crazy. Now that he’s awake, he seems more coherent than he was at the gate. He’s still clearly injured—he’s wrapped in bandages all over, and still has some visible cuts and bruises. But he’s been well tended to by the village healer at least, and given a new set of Garrison hunting clothes that aren’t torn and dirtied. His voice doesn’t sound harsh and rasping, so he’s at least had a chance to drink some water, and a few hours of rest have done at least a little to take care of the dark lines under his eyes.  
  
He seems…well, he seems like _Shiro._ Calm, collected, reliable, and strong. Not like any of the possessed people outside. Even _with_ that strange, gleaming black and grey Seru attached to his arm, she feels like she can trust him.  
  
So she tells him what she’s seen. All of it, even the parts that anyone else might call her crazy for. The banging. The robed figure on the wall. The blast that destroyed the gate, and the dozens of gleaming green eyes outside.  
  
“But it just… _disappeared,”_ she finishes. “I don’t know how something that big just _disappears!_ I don’t know why it didn’t just attack!”  
  
She half expects Shiro to call her crazy anyway, but he just closes his eyes for a moment. When he opens them again, he looks grim. “I knew it. Robeast.”  
  
She stares at him. “Ro-what? You know that thing?”  
  
“I…yes…no…ugh.” Shiro squeezes his eyes shut, and presses his head into his hands, clutching at it in frustration. “I remember the name…that it’s dangerous. But I can’t…Astra, help me…”  
  
_“I cannot, Shiro. I am sorry, but those are memories before I integrated with you. I cannot preserve what I have not seen.”_  
  
Pidge looks around in alarm. “Wh…who was _that?”_  
  
Shiro looks equally startled at her reaction. “You can hear her?”  
  
“Hear _who?”_  
  
_“Me,”_ Pidge hears—or not exactly _hears,_ she realizes. More like she’s hearing it in her head than with her ears. _“Greetings, Pidge. I am Astra, Ra-Seru of Wind and Storm.”_  
  
Pidge still has no idea where the voice comes from, until Shiro raises his Seru-covered arm, turning his palm towards himself. To Pidge’s great surprise, the gold gem set into the back of his hand gleams faintly when she not-exactly-hears the voice speaking.  
  
Gods. The Seru is _talking_ to her.  
  
“Easy,” Shiro assures her, as her eyes go wide. His Seru-hand turns as he raises both in a placating gesture. “Relax. I know it’s weird, but Astra’s…different. Ra-Seru are different than normal Seru. They’re holy. Stronger.”  
  
Pidge frowns. “Holy’s just a magic classification. There are holy Seru go insane in the Mists like any others.”  
  
_“That is not what I am,”_ Pidge not-hears. Shiro’s hand gleams just faintly purple, and it casts enough light to turn his odd white bangs a glittering violet. _“Ra-Seru such as I are servants of Oriande, sent by Tieg Himself to protect humans in their hour of need. I exist to protect human and Seru alike.”_  
  
Pidge regards the Seru on Shiro’s hand skeptically. “I’ve never heard of a Ra-Seru before. Are you sure this thing isn’t tricking you?”  
  
“It’s no trick, Pidge,” Shiro says gravely. “I know it’s hard to accept, but Astra…Astra’s for real. Without her help, I’d probably be dead. I…” He closes his eyes for a moment, breathing deeply.  
  
_“That time is over,”_ Astra not-says. _“We have overcome it together. I will support you always. We have both paid the price. It is done.”_  
  
Shiro nods. “Right,” he says. Pidge isn’t exactly sure what that’s about, but she can feel Astra’s conviction in her head, and Shiro seems to trust her completely. “Look, Pidge—Astra can do a lot of things normal Seru can’t. She’s completely immune to the Mist; it won’t make her crazy. She has dominion over other Seru, to a degree. She makes me stronger, too, but I’m still in control. We’re a team, not a master and servant. We bonded together outside of the wall.”  
  
Pidge stares at the thing on Shiro’s arm, frowning. This close, she can see finer details—the way each of Shiro’s fingers are covered carefully, like an armored gauntlet. The way the shell over his forearm is actually shaped in such a way that it would make a decent shield. The way the ridges and growing spines jut in such a way that they would be devastating when striking an enemy, but aren’t inherently deadly to the wearer.  
  
It _looks_ a little scary, certainly. It’s foreign and strange, in an age where such a sight normally means death, or a fate worse than death. But if that’s Astra, she doesn’t seem to be hurting Shiro any. And even though Pidge has been cautious, and even nervous about the thing, it doesn’t _feel_ evil. She’s been uncomfortable because the stories told her to be, but her instincts aren’t telling her Astra is dangerous.  
  
She should be scared. She should be _terrified._ But she finds herself more curious than anything else.  
  
_“That you can hear me, and that you do not fear me—that you know me for what I am—means you have great potential in you.”_ Astra’s not-voice is warm and soothing in her head.  
  
Pidge frowns. “How do you know I’m not scared of you?”  
  
_“I can feel your surface thoughts,”_ Astra not-says. _“The barest traces of your emotions. I do not pry further, of course. Humans like their privacy. But it is how we communicate, when we have no expressions and voices to use.”_  
  
“Oh,” Pidge says. She should be angry at that, but finds it’s more fascinating than anything else. If they weren’t in the middle of an attack, she’d ask more questions.  
  
As it is, she still has questions, but more pressing and more relevant. “The Seru will be outside our door any minute,” she says. “If you and this Ra-Seru are so strong…is there a way to fight them? People are…people are dying outside. Being taken by the Seru. There has to be _something_ we can do. I can’t let my mother be hurt, too. Not after…” she draws to a halt, shuddering.  
  
Shiro’s face is sympathetic, and he places his left hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay, Pidge,” he says. “We’ll protect her. I promise. Astra and I might have a way to save the village—if we can drive back the Mist.”  
  
Pidge’s eyes widen. “Is that even _possible?”_  
  
“Yes,” Shiro says, “It is. But it won’t be easy.”  
  
_“And we will need your assistance,”_ Astra adds. _“You have great potential. That strength will be needed for the task ahead.”_  
  
“Me?” Pidge asks, incredulous. “What can _I_ do? I’m not even fully trained as a hunter. I’ve been learning, but I’m not even approved for going outside the wall yet. I can’t help you fight all the Seru out there.”  
  
“We don’t have to fight all of them,” Shiro says. “Not even Astra and I could do that alone. We need to get to the Genesis Tree. If we can awaken it, we can drive back the Mist.”  
  
“You can really do that?” Pidge asks. She glances between Shiro, and Astra on his hand. “It’s…it’s withering. It always has. It’s never saved anyone before…”  
  
Shiro stares down at his Ra-Seru-covered fingers, and closes them into a fist. “Yes. We can do it together.”  
  
_“Yes. And perhaps, if we hurry, we can save not just this village, but one other dormant life as well. She is waiting. She needs our help. Perhaps she needs Pidge’s help most of all.”_  
  
Pidge frowns. “Me? Help who?”  
  
_“We will see. If we are in time, you will know soon enough.”_  
  
Pidge finds that awfully cryptic, but doesn’t have time to dwell on it. “The Genesis Tree is in the orchard…but the Seru have got to be swarming over it by now. And you’re still injured. How do we even get to it? Can you even fight?”  
  
“There’s no one watching, right?” Shiro asks, glancing at the door. “The guards left?”  
  
Pidge nods.  
  
“Good,” Shiro says. “I didn’t want to scare anyone earlier. We wanted to earn the village’s trust. But we don’t have time for that now. Don’t panic—I’m going to summon a Seru of our own.”  
  
Pidge’s eyes go wide. “You’re going to what?”  
  
But Shiro is already concentrating, and as Pidge watches, Astra’s golden gem flashes brightly. A bright orb of light rises from his palm, and a batlike creature emerges from it. It almost looks organic, but the stony texture of its body and lack of any eyes mark it as a living statue—which definitely makes it a Seru.  
  
But Shiro had told her not to panic, so instead she watches. The Seru flutters in the air for a moment, but Astra’s golden gem continues to gleam, and the bat-creature circles Shiro once. He’s suffused in a bright beam of sunlight for just a moment, and when the light fades, all of Shiro’s fresh cuts and bruises are gone. The Seru circles him once more, before turning back into the little orb of light, and disappearing back inside Astra’s gem.  
  
“What was _that?”_ Pidge asks. She should be scared—such power, literally in Shiro’s hand!—but all she feels is excited. Shiro had a way to use Seru as they were _supposed_ to be used, ages ago!  
  
“Magic,” Shiro says. “Like I said—Astra has dominion over regular Seru. We found that one while traveling, and she managed to absorb it. She can command it to use its powers to our benefit.”  
  
_“It is still not as it should be,”_ Astra not-says, and Pidge swears she sounds sorrowful. _“Vera were once wonderful Seru of holy light, with beautiful wings and calming presences. The Mist has still warped this Seru beyond what it was, but at least it will no longer harm humans.”_  
  
“Could I learn to do that?” Pidge asks. “Magic, I mean.”  
  
_“As you are, no,”_ Astra not-says. _“I have the ability to summon and control. Shiro has the energy required to do so. Neither of us can accomplish this task alone.”_  
  
Pidge contains her disappointment, at least for the moment. Magic already seems so much more efficient than fighting things—and Seru are intriguing, when they’re not turned into terrifying monsters. “Okay. Never mind, then. Ready to go?”  
  
“Yes.” Shiro clenches his fist once. “Astra?”  
  
_“I am prepared.”_  
  
“Then let’s go.”  
  
Shiro goes first, throwing open the door and darting out into the Mist. A Seru greets him almost immediately, and lunges for Shiro, trying to wrap its ball-and-chain body around him. But Shiro meets its attack head on with Astra, curling his fist and punching the Seru right in what passes for its head. The Seru rocks back with a shriek of surprise, crashing to the ground in a clatter of metal before dragging itself laboriously up to hover once more.  
  
Shiro hits it with Astra again. This time Pidge can actually see the Mist sweep backward for a moment, as a burst of cold wind flows out of his hand with a shimmer of purple sparks. The Seru shatters, its metal spines raining to the ground before disintegrating into dust.  
  
Pidge stares, stunned. She’s _never_ seen a Seru defeated before, and not so easily. Ra-Seru really were something shockingly far above their Seru relatives.  
  
“C’mon!” Shiro yells over his shoulder. “Let’s go! We’ll protect you.”  
  
Pidge darts after him into the deepest Mist, suddenly a lot more confident in their mission.  
  
The Seru are out in full force now, attacking villagers and hunters without mercy. The humans—those that are left alive, or not possessed—pay Pidge and Shiro no mind as they run past. Pidge considers it a blessing; they really don’t have time for anyone to blame Shiro for the attack, not right now.  
  
The Seru are another matter. They don’t ignore Pidge or Shiro, and inevitably attack if they draw too close to the mutated creatures. Pidge helps where she can, but her father’s little hunting knife doesn’t do much of anything to the Seru. At best all she can do is stall, or distract the creatures long enough for Shiro to finish them.  
  
But Shiro is in his element against the Seru. He’d always been one of the best hunters, even in training, even new to the ventures outside the walls. Combat and command were in his blood, her father had said. He’d thought Shiro would be an excellent candidate to take over leading the hunters when he was older.  
  
Shiro’s time outside the wall hasn’t dampened his combat skills any. If anything, he’s gotten stronger, faster, more agile. He strikes with speed and grace, often closing ranks with the Seru too fast for them to react. His high kicks and well executed punches are able to knock the levitating Seru out of the air or disorient them enough for him to get in another attack.  
  
And with Astra, his attacks are only made stronger. With a Ra-Seru for a fist, he’s able to shatter the attacking Seru with only a few strikes. Time and again his punches release a shower of purple sparks and sharp, icy blasts of wind. Pidge wonders if that has anything to do with Astra introducing herself as the Ra-Seru of Wind and Storm.  
  
And once, Shiro even lashes out with his Ra-Seru fist to seize one of the lightning-spewing Seru in his gauntleted fingers, and squeezes. The creature bursts in a shower of light that swarms into Astra’s golden gem. Ten minutes later, when three of the ball-and-chain fire Seru attack, Astra glows a brilliant purple, and the same Seru appears to blast away the swarming attackers in a crackle of electricity.  
  
Astra’s power, combined with Shiro, is _incredible._ It’s no wonder he’d survived the Mists. It’s no wonder he made his way home. Pidge wonders how he even found a Ra-Seru to begin with. Maybe if they’re successful, she can ask.  
  
He’s not perfect, of course. The Seru do still manage to hurt him. He’s taken more than a few injuries from lashing spines and striking tentacle arms, and there are a fair few cuts on his face and uncovered arm. Once, another of the electrical Seru shoots him with a blast of lightning, and Pidge can’t help but wince at the cry of pain that escapes Shiro then.  
  
But even then, Astra protects him. Her carapace resists the lashing claws and spines of the other Seru, and is an excellent shield for blocking. And the electrical strikes might have seriously wounded another human, but although it clearly still pains Shiro, she seems to absorb the majority of the energy, protecting his body from harm.  
  
“How did you two learn to _fight_ together like that?” Pidge asks, wide-eyed, as they finally make it to the edge of the orchard.  
  
Shiro stares down at his right hand. “Ah…no idea,” he admits. “It just sort of…happens.”  
  
_“It is the deepest integration,”_ Astra not-says. _“A high price paid, and a story for another day. We must reach the Genesis Tree, soon. She calls to me.”_  
  
“Right,” Pidge says. “This way.”  
  
Pidge is virtually useless in combat, but she _does_ know her way around the village—all its shortcuts and all the ways to go to avoid people. Even with the Seru, she’s able to lead the way. Between Shiro’s fighting and her directions, they finally manage to reach the center of the orchard, where the Genesis Tree rests.  
  
It’s _glowing._  
  
“What’s going on?” Pidge asks. “It’s never done anything like this before…and where’s the Mist? Where are the Seru?” The Mist had reached the ocean by now, and had flooded the rest of the orchard. The Seru had been gleefully destroying the fruit trees as they’d passed. But none of that exists within a thirty foot radius around them. Some Seru wait just on the edge of the invisible circle, waiting to pounce, but they don’t strike—even with Pidge and Shiro in sight.  
  
_“The Genesis Tree has sensed its purpose,”_ Astra not-says. _“It tries to protect. We must help it. We must help her, too. Hurry, Shiro.”_  
  
Shiro darts forward to the tree, and presses his right hand—and Astra—against its surface. The Ra-Seru’s golden gem starts to glow alongside the Genesis Tree. Pidge comes forward curiously, eager to see what’s happening. If Astra can really revive the Tree, and save the village…  
  
_“Pi…idge…help…me…”_  
  
Pidge’s eyes widen, and she glances at Shiro’s arm. “Astra? Was that you?”  
  
_“No. It is her. We were almost too late. Her slumber is nearly too deep. You must help her wake.”_  
  
“Her? The Genesis Tree?”  
  
_“No. The Ra-Seru in the Tree itself.”_  
  
“The what?” Pidge yelps. “There’s—there’s been a Ra-Seru in Garrison? _Always?”_  
  
_“The Genesis Trees are the cradles of the Ra-Seru,”_ Astra not-says. _“We rest where Tieg has sent us until we are called to help save the world. She is ready to answer the call. But she is weak. I can grant her the power to leave the Genesis Tree, but you must help her grow stronger.”_  
  
_“Pidge…please…”_  
  
Pidge stares at the Genesis Tree. It’s glowing brighter now, and at it’s core she can see something new: a dark green glimmer, pulsing like a heartbeat. The moment her eyes light on it, she realizes it’s the source of the new voice.  
  
_“Pidge,”_ it calls softly. Its not-exactly-a-voice is a little louder now, just barely. _“Please. I wish to help. I have listened to your dreams and your goals for so long, now. Your intellect, your courage, your faith in your family—yours is a strong mind, one I can bond with. Accept me and I will teach you and help you protect that which you care about most. Help me, and we can save the world, together.”_  
  
It sounds tempting, but Pidge hesitates, for just a moment. To accept a Seru…even a Ra-Seru…would that make her like Shiro? She would have the creature physically bound to her, for the rest of her life? All her life, she’s been taught to never touch or wear a Seru. To do so means death, or a fate worse than death.  
  
But this…  
  
This feels different. Like Astra, this Ra-Seru doesn’t frighten her. She can feel its intent, its genuine desire to help and save the world. It wants to protect. It wants to teach her. It respects Pidge for her intelligence and her willingness to do what is needed to protect what is important to her. She can feel that their minds are a perfect match, strong enough to let them unite as one.  
  
She doesn’t really know enough about these Ra-Seru to know their intent. But she can feel that their compassion is real, and their desire to save the world from the Mist is genuine. And while she can feel this Ra-Seru struggling now, weak from eons of slumber, she _knows_ it will be powerful with her help. Strong enough to resist the Mists. Strong enough to use magic.  
  
Strong enough to let her search for Matt. Strong enough to let her search for her father. Strong enough to bring them both home.  
  
“Yes,” she says out loud. “I’ll help you. I accept.”  
  
Astra’s golden gem glows brighter as Shiro presses his hand more firmly to the bark of the Genesis Tree. The little green heartbeat inside begins to move, shifting through the Genesis Tree itself to emerge from the bark right before Pidge.  
  
The Ra-Seru, in its natural state, looks little more like a gemstone. It’s a deep green, with a glittering white stone like a diamond set into its center. It’s pretty to look at, but more than that, Pidge can feel it—no, _her_ —deep intelligence and compassion.  
  
_“Thank you, Pidge,”_ the Ra-Seru not-says. _“I am Silva, Ra-Seru of Thunder. I am honored to be your partner. I will teach you magic. I will help you find your family. And together, we will free the world of the Mist.”_  
  
Pidge nods, and holds out her left arm.  
  
Silva attaches to her wrist easily. Pidge feels a strange pressure on her mind and body for just a moment, but then it’s gone, and suddenly she can feel Silva’s presence more strongly than before. That consciousness rests just at the back of her mind, a presence that is a part of her but separate too. It occurs to her that Astra had been forced to project her thoughts to Pidge, because they weren’t connected—Silva, she realizes, could speak to her within her thoughts, faster than she could say anything out loud.  
  
_Very astute,_ Silva says in her mind. _I knew I chose well for a partner._  
  
Physically, Pidge is a little surprised at Silva’s appearance. She’d half expected the Ra-Seru to crawl up most of her arm, like Astra does on Shiro. Instead, Silva acts more like a wrist guard—most of her glossy green body forms a hard cuff, with a slight protrusion that guards the back of her hand. A small, glimmering white gem is set exactly in the center of the cuff. If Pidge didn’t know this was a Ra-Seru, she could easily mistake it for a piece of expensive jewelry.  
  
_I will grow, with time, and with power,_ Silva assures Pidge privately, in her own thoughts. _It seems Astra and her host were forced to pay a deep price very early. That is the reason for their size and power._  
  
_Deep price?_ Pidge tries asking back, privately, in her head.  
  
_Yes. Ra-Seru integrate with their hosts slowly and naturally over time, and grow as the bond matures. Astra has bypassed that, but it is…costly, for both parties. She must have felt a great need for it, and so would Shiro, or she would not have offered. But do not ask it of them unless they volunteer. It is not our place to ask._  
  
Pidge’s mind burns with curiosity at what that could possibly mean, but she holds her tongue. They have bigger things to deal with…and Silva’s not wrong. It sounds like it’s a very private thing. She’ll give it a little time.  
  
“Now what do we do?” Pidge asks out loud. “Was that waking the Genesis Tree?”  
  
_“No,”_ Astra not-says. _“But with Silva’s help, and yours, we can wake it much more easily.”_  
  
_“We will guide you,”_ Silva adds. This time, Pidge can feel her casting her voice, so that Shiro and Astra can hear her, too. _“Touch the Genesis Tree, and offer your prayers for its revival.”_  
  
Pidge presses her left hand, and Silva, against the bark of the tree. It feels warmer than it ever did, and she can feel the pulse of power beneath her palm, like a tiny heartbeat. But she balks at the second order. _I never really…did the whole ‘religion’ thing so well,_ she admits to Silva, privately. _I don’t know if my prayers would mean anything._  
  
_They will,_ Silva reassures her. _You have a clever and determined mind. Give it what comes strongest to you. Give it your determination. Your hopes for your family. Your belief and faith in them. That is the strength that the Genesis Tree needs._  
  
_I’ll try it,_ Pidge says. She stares into the depths of the tree, and concentrates hard, as hard as she can, on those thoughts. Not on prayers, but on every promise she’s ever made to this Genesis Tree, buried deep beneath its bark in its heart. On every time she’s ever looked at the wall and believed Matt and her father were still out there. On every sore feeling in her muscles after training, knowing she was getting strong enough to go out and save her village. On the musty scent of scrolls and books, and the knowledge that came with it, that would one day make her stronger in mind, enough to do the impossible.  
  
She concentrates on all of it, and gives it all to the Genesis Tree—and this time she can feel it absorbing her thoughts, her faith, her strength. Silva begins to glow a brilliant green, and Pidge can feel the Ra-Seru turning her thoughts and her faith into _power_. Beside her, she can see Shiro, bowed forward with his eyes closed and his forehead against the bark of the tree, Astra pressed to its surface and glowing a brilliant purple. She can feel power surfacing from them, too.  
  
And then, suddenly, the Genesis Tree starts to bloom.  
  
It emits a brilliant white light as it absorbs the last of their faith-turned-power, and suddenly the Genesis Tree begins to grow. Its trunk, once withered and stunted, grows taller and thicker, until it towers over the fruit trees in the orchard. Its thin, brittle branches grow thicker and stronger, outstretching over Pidge’s and Shiro’s heads like a great protector. Beautiful, jewel-like leaves begin to grow on those new branches, glimmering green, until the tree is absolutely covered in them. It looks vibrant and alive, and more unearthly than ever, but strangely all the more beautiful for it.  
  
And once it’s fully grown, Pidge can feel the power in it. A brilliant pillar of light reaches from the tree heavenward, and it begins to pulse with power. That power rushes over the land, through the orchard, through the village—Pidge can feel it reaching even farther than that, with Silva. And wherever that power reaches, the Mist evaporates. Pidge watches it disappear before her eyes; she watches the Seru gathered at the edge of the Genesis Tree’s protective aura shatter and crumble to dust.  
  
It worked. It really worked. For the first time in over ten years, the Mist has been driven back. They are _free._  
  
_“The Genesis Tree is restored,”_ Astra not-says. _“The land in its domain is free of the influence of Mist once more.”_  
  
“We’re free,” Pidge says out loud. “We’re _free._ We can go outside the walls safely. We can hunt without fear of the Mist. We can…” Her eyes go wide, and she turns to Shiro. “We can find my brother and father! You were with them. You survived. You must know where to look for them…!”  
  
But when Shiro steps away from the Genesis Tree to look for her, his eyes are sad. “I’m sorry, Pidge,” he says softly. “I know we were together at first, when the Mist came, but…I don’t remember much of what happened, in between. Most of it’s a blur. Astra helps me remember things, sometimes, but they weren’t with me when I found her. I don’t know where they are.”  
  
Pidge thuds to her knees before she realizes she’s even falling. “You…you don’t?” But that had been the whole reason she’d wanted to meet with Shiro in the first place. If anyone would know where her family was, it would be him. He was the last living human to have seen them. He had to know. He _had_ to.  
  
But he looks genuinely helpless as he kneels down in front of her, and places his left hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Pidge,” he says again, and she can hear and feel that he means it. “I don’t know where they are. But I _will_ help you find them. Matt and your father are survivors. If there’s a chance anyone survived out there, it’s them. And if they were taken by Seru monsters…” He places his right hand, and Astra, over her left. “Then we have the power to free them. Okay?”  
  
Pidge swallows. She’s not quite sure if she wants to be furious or to cry over this frustrating roadblock…but Shiro’s not wrong. She has the power to travel the Mists, now. She can search for her family, and if she finds them, she can free them. “Okay.”  
  
_“There are many other Genesis Trees in the world that must be revived, too,”_ Silva adds. _“Many other lives that need saving. Many others that must be found. We must aid all of those people, and free the world of the Mist forever.”_  
  
Pidge nods, trying to force back her frustrations. “Right. Okay. Saving the world. Not exactly what I planned on this morning, but I’ll do what I can.”  
  
Shiro smiles. “That’s the spirit. I believe in you, Pidge. You and Silva can be great, as long as you work together.” He offers her a hand up, and she takes it gratefully.  
  
“Right,” Pidge agrees. “But maybe tomorrow. For now…for now, I want to check on my mom. Make sure she’s okay. And the rest of the village. We can’t see much of anything in the orchard.”  
  
_“I sense confusion,”_ Astra offers. _“And some pain. But no more Seru. Perhaps we can offer our services with healing.”_  
  
“Can we do that, too?” Pidge asks, staring down at her wrist, and Silva.  
  
_“We must find Seru, first,”_ her Ra-Seru answers. _“Then I will teach you how to harness their magics. You are very clever, Pidge. I can already sense a wellspring of energy in you. You will be quite skilled at magic, once we have tools.”_  
  
Pidge is pleased to hear that, at least. Even if she can’t help now, she is quite eager to learn how to use magic. It seems efficient, useful, and practical—a better use of her time than trying to hit things.  
  
They leave the orchard together, mostly because Pidge is still worried the villagers might blame Shiro for the attack. She needn’t have worried. The villagers are ecstatic about the sudden evaporation of the Mist, and once they learn Shiro, Pidge, and their Ra-Seru were responsible, they have nothing but praise and thanks or them in their hour of need. The Elder personally apologizes to Shiro for his treatment, and others apologize for being frightened of him when he’d first arrived.  
  
Shiro never blames any of them, and he and Astra do what they can to assist with their magic, summoning Seru to heal and complete tasks until Shiro is too drained of energy to help anymore. Even then he still helps with putting out fires, freeing trapped villagers, and helping to treat the wounded in more mundane ways, with bandages and poultices.  
  
Once Pidge is sure he’s not going to be attacked for Astra’s presence, she runs home. Even if they had revived the Genesis Tree, there was still so much destruction in the village, and more than a few people were dead. She hasn’t seen her mother since she left. If she had been…  
  
But her fears aren’t realized. When she turns the corner her hut is a little scorched from offshoots of electricity, and the garden is completely destroyed, but the hut still stands—and her mother is alive. She’s standing at the door anxiously, still staring in the direction Pidge had first left in, but she turns when Pidge calls her and her face lights up in relief.  
  
“I was so worried!” her mother gasps, as Pidge burrows into her harms for a fierce hug. “I was so worried, Katie. I could hear them outside—the Seru, inside the wall!—and you hadn’t come back, and…oh, by the gods, I thought I’d lost all of you then—“  
  
“I’m okay, mom,” Pidge promises. A few tears escape her, but she’s smiling too. “I’m okay. Everything’s okay now. Shiro protected me out there, and I found Silva. I’m safe.”  
  
“Shiro?” her mother asks, finally pulling away to look down at Pidge incredulously. “And…is that a _Seru?”_  
  
Pidge smiles a little sheepishly. “There’s a lot to explain, mom.”  
  
And she does, when they go back inside, and her mother makes a hot cup of tea for her as she listens. She isn’t frightened of Silva, although Silva can’t speak to her directly—she says her mother doesn’t have a mind that can hear Ra-Seru. Her mother trusts Pidge at least, and trusts that she’s made the right decision. She explains about the Genesis Tree and the way it drove away the Mist, and how Silva is immune, and how there are other trees out there that need to be awakened for the world to truly be free.  
  
Her mother smiles sadly when she’s finished. “Your father always said he thought you were destined for truly amazing things, Katie,” she says softly. “He knew it in his heart. But I don’t think he ever envisioned anything like this. You’ll…you’ll be leaving the village soon, won’t you?”  
  
“I have to,” Pidge says softly. “I promised Silva, and all those other parts of the world deserve to be free of the Mist, too. None of them should have to live in fear…or in mindlessness.” She grows more confident. “Besides, Silva promised to help me, too. Dad and Matt…they have to still be out there, somewhere. With Silva, I have a chance to find them. A chance to save them. I have to take it.”  
  
“I understand, Katie,” her mother says. “And I want you to know I’m proud of you. And your father would be, too. But even so…be careful for me, okay? Will you promise? I…I want to know for certain at least one of my children is still safe.”  
  
_I will protect you with my very being,_ Silva promises quietly. She hasn’t interrupted Pidge’s conversation with her mother, remaining quietly in the back of Pidge’s consciousness, but she stirs now. _Your mother cannot hear me, but I so swear it, anyway. I will do everything in my considerable power to keep you safe._  
  
Pidge grins. _I’ll be sure to let her know. But thanks. That means a lot to me, too._  
  
It’s nearly dawn when Pidge finishes explaining, and she’s exhausted. She’s only had maybe two hours of sleep throughout all of this, and reviving the Genesis Tree had been draining on her. She’s about to excuse herself for a few hours of rest, but then there’s a knock at the door, and when Pidge’s mother answers, it’s Shiro that steps in.  
  
“Mrs. Holt,” he greets, nodding politely. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to intrude, but I—“  
  
Pidge’s mother doesn’t give him a chance to say anything further. She envelops him in a hug as well, drawing him close and murmuring, “I’m so happy to see you’re alive, too.” He looks surprised for a moment, but then carefully wraps his left arm around her to return it.  
  
Pidge grins tiredly at him. “Lot of hugs going around, tonight.”  
  
“I’ve noticed. Half the village has gotten into it,” Shiro says. “At least they’re not scared of Astra, anymore.”  
  
_“Hugs are…a new experience, for a Ra-Seru,”_ Astra not-says, bemusedly. _“As an arm it is an…interesting exercise.”_  
  
Pidge snorts at that, and at Silva’s thoughtful consideration of it in the back of her head.  
  
“That’s…sort of why I’m here, though,” Shiro adds, as Pidge’s mother finally relinquishes him from her grip, and bustles over to the kitchen unit to make him a cup of tea and some form of breakfast. “I’ve seen a lot of people, helping with the cleanup, but…where’s Keith?”  
  
Pidge freezes.  
  
“He wasn’t injured,” Shiro continues. “I’ve been helping in the healing huts. I thought maybe when I’d arrived he’d been out with the hunting parties, but no one would have been hunting at night. He’s not…” He hesitates. “He’s…he’s got to be old enough to be a hunter, now. Pidge, he isn’t…is he?”  
  
Pidge winces at the raw fear in his voice. “I don’t know,” she says, truthfully. She wishes she had a better answer than that, but she doesn’t.  
  
“You don’t know?” Shiro asks, frowning. “How? Is it…was it like us?”  
  
“No,” Pidge says. Her mother places the cup of tea in front of Shiro and gestures insistently for him to drink. He wraps his hands around the cup, but doesn’t take a sip, too focused on Pidge to do anything else. “He…well. He’d wanted to join the hunting parties so he could look for you, when you disappeared. But they wouldn’t let him. A hunting team is a unit, they said. They couldn’t let anyone just wander off to search for people who were probably dead. It didn’t just put the lone searcher at risk—the rest of the team that would have depended on that one extra defense could be in danger, too, and then the village could starve.”  
  
“They weren’t wrong,” Shiro admits. “But…Keith?”  
  
“He…wasn’t happy with that answer,” Pidge admits. “Maybe six months after you and my father and Matt disappeared, Keith just…vanished. No one really knows what happened to him, officially. There were all sorts of rumors for a while, but…” she hesitates.  
  
“I never told anyone,” she admits, “but I have a pretty good idea he slipped out after the hunters, one day. He’d been talking about the outside, a while before that. Kept asking me questions about the things I’d read in the scrolls and books. If I’d ever found maps of the areas outside the hunting grounds. That sort of thing. I think he decided to leave on his own, to look for you.”  
  
She looks down at the table. “For a while, I was envious of him. I wanted to follow after him, too.”  
  
“Pidge!” her mother says, shocked.  
  
“I know,” she says. “It was stupid. And I knew it. That’s the only reason I didn’t go, because I knew I couldn’t protect myself. It’s the reason I worked so hard to study all those old scrolls, to find a way to travel safely in the Mist. I knew I couldn’t go as I was, but I’d hoped maybe there was a way.”  
  
“There isn’t,” Shiro says, pained. “Not on your own. Not without a Ra-Seru. _Keith_ …you shouldn’t have put yourself at risk like that. Not for me…”  
  
The anguish in his voice is too real, and Pidge knows all too well how helpless he feels, knowing someone important to him is out unprotected in the Mists. But Shiro had reassured her when she’d been afraid, and she returns the favor now. “If we can find my family, then we can find Keith. And you shouldn’t give up on him so easily. Keith’s strong. If anyone can survive out in the Mists on his own, it’s him. I mean, you did, and you taught him a bunch of the things he knows, right?”  
  
“Maybe,” Shiro whispers softly. “But it isn’t so simple as that. I didn’t survive out there alone without paying something.” He unwraps his hands from the mug of tea, and stares down at the gold gem set into the back of his Ra-Seru-gauntleted hand, before closing it slowly into a fist.  
  
Pidge frowns. “I thought you were happy to find Astra? You seem like a good team.”  
  
“I was. I am. And we are. But…there are worse things that can happen out in the Mist besides death, or being possessed, Pidge.” He glances back and forth between her and her mother. “If you’re thinking about going out there to help the Ra-Seru with their quest….you need to know that.”  
  
“What are you talking about?”  
  
There’s silence for a moment, before Astra finally not-says, _“Shiro…lost a part of himself, in the Mists. I endeavor to assist with this as much as I am capable.”_  
  
Pidge frowns again at that. Lost a part of himself? _What does she mean?_ she asks Silva.  
  
She can feel Silva’s sudden sadness and understanding. _Ah_ , Silva murmurs in the back of her head. _I see. I understand why such a price was paid, now. Look at his arm, Pidge, where they are joined._  
  
Pidge does. For a moment, she’s not sure what she’s looking for; the carapace of Astra’s shell doesn’t look any different where it covers half of Shiro’s bicep than it does on the rest of him. But then she notices the scarring around his arm, where his hunting clothes had been torn in the fight against the Seru. They aren’t new injuries—those had been healed with magic, after the battle. These are old scars, like the one on his face, that run deep and thick beneath Astra’s carapace. The damage looks extensive—and suddenly, Pidge understands.  
  
Astra isn’t like Silva at all. She’s not _covering_ Shiro’s arm. She _is_ his arm. He’s not wearing a gauntlet where the Ra-Seru has grown over his hand—she forms his fingers, hand and forearm with her own body.  
  
The deepest integration, Astra had called it. And it’s no wonder. For Astra to function so seamlessly as his arm…they’d have to be in perfect sync, in absolute harmony, one hundred percent of the time.  
  
_Yes_ , Silva agrees. _It is a very difficult connection to make. A Ra-Seru might spend months bonding with their host to reach that level, normally, and to grow that powerful and that large. They are more symbiotic than I had realized._  
  
_But you said it costs a high price,_ Pidge says.  
  
_Life energy. Spirit. Strength,_ Silva says. _Shiro’s, and Astra’s, both. It is a great gamble, and a great sacrifice. A Ra-Seru will die with its host, if we are still attached. Astra has paid a deep price to strengthen herself and Shiro, but I do not believe she can remove herself from him now, not until all of the Genesis Trees are awakened and that power exists to restore her. They have made their last stand already. If they fall, it will cost them both everything._  
  
_They won’t fall,_ Pidge argues hotly. _Shiro’s strong. And Astra is, too. They’ve already made it this far, and now they have us for help too._  
  
She swears Silva smiles at her, even if the Ra-Seru doesn’t have a face. _Such wisdom,_ she says. _Such strength. Yes, you are correct. We will help them. We will not let them fall._  
  
The entire conversation is held at the speed of thought, and bare seconds have passed in real time. But it’s still enough for Pidge to make up her mind.  
  
She reaches out and places her hand over Shiro’s—his Ra-Seru hand, the one where he’d both lost and gained. “My dad used to tell me and Matt all the time, ‘if you get too worried about what could go wrong, you might miss a chance to do something great,’ “ she says. Her mother looks between them curiously—she couldn’t hear Astra’s words, or Silva’s—but she nods in agreement at her father’s saying. “It might be dangerous out there, sure. And this is a big price to pay, and if you want to talk about it, I’m all ears. But we can’t give up yet, right? We have a chance to do something great. We have to take it.”  
  
Shiro smiles weakly. “I remember him saying that all the time.”  
  
“Then you should listen,” her mother says. She pats Shiro gently on the shoulder. “I won’t pretend to understand what’s happening, here, but I can see you’ve been hurt. I’m sorry to see that happen to you. But you’re strong. Sam always knew it. He knew you were capable of great things, too. Don’t hold yourself back. Listen.”  
  
“I won’t hold back,” Shiro agrees. “I never intended to. But you should know what you’re getting into, Pidge. Going out there even with a Ra-Seru will be dangerous. And…and Keith…he didn’t even—“  
  
“Don’t write Keith off yet,” Pidge says. “He’s _strong_ , like I said. If anyone can make it out there, he can. And me, too. I don’t care if it is dangerous—I’m _going_ out there, to find my father and Matt, and to keep my promise to Silva. Even…even if it costs the same price, I’ll still do it.” She squeezes Astra’s gauntlet fingers before finally letting go, and pulling her hand back to her side of the table. She doesn’t know how Shiro lost his arm, or how Astra came to replace it, but she knows if it comes to it, if she has to, she’ll do the same.  
  
_I hope, for your sake, it will not be required,_ Silva says solemnly.  
  
Shiro closes his eyes for a moment, breathing deeply. Pidge can’t tell for certain, but he has a feeling he and Astra are talking at thought-speed. But then he nods once, slowly, and opens his eyes.  
  
“Alright,” he says. “As long as you understand the danger, then…we’ll do it. We’ll do something great. We’ll save the whole world, if we have to.”  
  
Pidge grins. “And we’ll find the rest of them out there, too. One way or another, we’re bringing everyone home.”  
  
“Agreed,” Shiro says. “We will find them. _All_ of them.”  
  
“I’m happy to hear it,” Pidge’s mother says. “But for now, you should rest. Shiro—you can take Matt’s room, if you like. Your hut is all the way across town. It wasn’t moved into, but…”  
  
“It doesn’t even exist anymore,” Shiro admits, tiredly. “The Seru burned it down in the attack. No one was hurt, at least. And it’s not like I was planning on using it, but still…” He shrugs.  
  
“Then I insist you stay here,” Pidge’s mother says. “Katie, you can sleep in my bed, for now. And while you two rest, I’ll prepare supplies for your journey. Maybe you’ll be safe in the Mists with the Ra-Seru, but they certainly won’t feed you.”  
  
_“There is no Seru that transmits food,”_ Silva agrees sagely.  
  
“I know you two want to leave as soon as possible,” her mother says. “And I understand. But you should leave as rested, healthy and prepared as possible. Take the day and night to rest and prepare, and leave tomorrow morning. I’ll have everything ready for you by then, I promise.” She smiles. “I’m very proud of you two.”  
  
Shiro smiles. “Thank you. And thank you for letting me stay. I appreciate it more than you know.”  
  
Pidge’s mother smiles back. “You’re welcome. Now off to bed, both of you.”  
  
Pidge shuffles into her mother’s room, surprised by how weary she suddenly is. It takes all her strength to just make it to the bed, and she crawls under the warm covers with relief, settling into the pillows.  
  
_Rest well, Pidge,_ Silva says. Pidge adjusts her position so her wrist stretches out before her, enough to see Silva glittering around her arm, glowing faintly green. _You have earned respite. You are very brave, and very compassionate. I am proud to be your partner._  
  
_Thanks,_ Pidge thinks back to her. _I hope I can live up to that. I hope we can save everyone._  
  
_We can. We will. And we will find your family, too. All of them._  
  
_Thanks…_ And Pidge drifts off to sleep, full of peace despite all of the frightening things that have happened in the past twenty four hours. A new day is dawning, and no matter what happens, they’re going to make a difference.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When the Mist came, Hunk's village retreated to the heart of Balmera Mountain to survive. Ten years in the deepest depths of the earth have been hard, especially for Lance, but at least the Seru can't reach them. Except the Mist has started to press deeper, and with the village's survival at risk, perhaps only Lance's tall tales of a three-eyed lion can save them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning, this chapter is a behemoth, but I had fun writing it so that's what matters :P

Hunk finds Lance exactly where he expects: at his usual little hidden cluster of boulders at the edge of Deep Crystal, staring at the ceiling.  
  
Lance always insists he’s not _staring at the ceiling_ , he’s looking at the sky. It’s not really true, of course. Nobody’s seen the sky in many years. It’s just an awful lot of rock over their heads, the weight of the entirety of Balmera Mountain sturdy and strong above them like a great, steadfast guardian. Lance could stare until the end of time, and he won’t see what he’s really looking for.   
  
But it’s not Hunk’s place to tell Lance that. Not when the rest of the village does on a near regular basis. Hunk is Lance’s best friend, practically his adopted brother, and he’s okay being the one person in the village willing to let Lance dream. Even for just a little bit. Even if it’s silly and impractical and gets them both into trouble more often than not.   
  
So when Hunk finally finds Lance, he doesn’t chide his friend on disappearing. Instead, he says, “Hey, there you are! Shay invited us over for dinner. Her grandma’s making stew. Rax was all grumbly about it, but I bet we could rope him into a ball game in the stone fields after if Shay helps us. Two on two—even odds, right?”  
  
Lance is sprawled out across a few of the boulders, feet kicked out in front of him and elbows back to prop him up. But at Hunk’s approach stops staring at the ceiling— _sky_ —and kicks himself up into a sit, crossing his legs in front of him.   
  
“Sounds fun,” he agrees, but he’s not as animated as he could be. That makes Hunk frown. Lance never passes up a chance to hang out and fool around with his friends, but he seems distracted today.   
  
“What’s wrong?” Hunk asks, sitting himself down on one of the boulders, across from Lance.   
  
“Did you know it’s been ten years to the day since I got here?” Lance says, after a moment.  
  
Hunk blinks. “Really? Time sure flies…”  
  
“Yeah. Flies.” Lance stares wistfully at the ceiling again. “If you can call it that. You can’t even really tell what time it is. It could be midnight out on the surface for all we know, and we’re calling it dinner time.”  
  
“It’s dinner time,” Hunk says defensively. “My mom’s clock says so.” His mother had been skilled with her hands before the Mist ever came, and she’d done all kinds of things, from tinkering with jewelry to building little clockwork machines. Her clock kept perfect time, and had never been wrong before the Mist came, and Hunk didn’t see any reason for that to have changed now.   
  
Lance grumbles. “That’s not the point, Hunk. I just…I want to see the _sky_ again. Stars. Clouds. Fresh air. The ocean. Grass. All those _outside_ things.”   
  
Hunk frowns. This isn’t an uncommon desire for Lance—he’s so homesick for the outside world it’s painful. Hunk wouldn’t mind seeing all those things again too, but he’s never minded the caverns of Deep Crystal as much as some others. He comes from a mountain village, and the earth is in all of their bones more strongly than anywhere else in the world, his father says. So for Hunk this is home as much as anywhere else.   
  
But for Lance it’s not. He’s never been as used to the caves as the rest of them. And today seems even worse than usual. Hunk’s heard him complain dozens of times, but today he sounds almost defeated. “Where’s this coming from?” he asks after a moment, confused.  
  
Lance swallows. He hesitates for a moment, then says softly, “I just…I realized what today is, and I realized…I’ve lived under a ceiling longer than I’ve lived under clouds. I’m afraid I’m gonna forget what it all looks like outside…”  
  
He looks absolutely miserable, and ducks his head down, staring at his crossed legs. Hunk feels awful for him, but he doesn’t really know what to say. O _ne day the Mist will go back where it came from and we can see the sky again_ just feels like a lie. It hasn’t gone away in ten years. They’ve been cooped up underground with monsters at their door since that fateful day. It’s hard to have hope that things could change.   
  
“And _stars,_ Hunk!” Lance says after a moment. “If it’s dinner time, it’s almost night. The stars will be out soon. My mom had just started teaching me constellations. the Dreamer, the Lifetree, the Hunting Wolf…I don’t know if I’d remember them anymore.”  His voice trembles warningly. “I don’t…I don’t know if I’d even remember my mom’s face. Or my dad’s. Or my brothers and sisters, or my grandma…or…or if they’re even—“  
  
“Don’t talk like that,” Hunk interrupts, standing up. He’ll let Lance dream and complain all he wants, but this is too much. “They’re fine. They’re _all_ fine. They must have found someplace else to be safe, and they’re waiting just like us. And one day the Mist _will_ go away and you’ll see them again.” Even if that last part feels like a lie, it’s still preferable to Lance’s alternative.  
  
Lance isn’t from Deep Crystal. Or from Crystalline, the village at the base of Balmera Mountain in the outside world, where most people here migrated from. Hunk had been born there, and he’d lived the first seven years of his life there.   
  
Crystalline had been a thriving, happy place to live, a hunting village that often received visitors from the cities and towns all over Legaia. It had plenty of prized furs to trade in, as well as the pretty crystals that grew on Balmera Mountain that were often used in jewelry and as components in machinery. And if people weren’t there for trade, it was the last safe place to stop before heading through the pass over Balmera, or to rest after crossing from Niloofar the other side. Hunk’s mother and father had run the inn at Crystalline, and Hunk always got to meet plenty of new people going to and from and listen to their stories.  
  
That was how he’d met Lance. Lance’s family was huge, and they’d taken up half the rooms at the inn. There had been a lot of kids in that family, but Lance was closest in age to Hunk, and they’d played together for the two days the family had stayed to prepare for their trip over the pass.   
  
Lance said they came from a town called Bluve, but that they were moving to the city. He was excited, but he would miss the ocean. Hunk had never seen the ocean, and listened in awe (and a little bit of fear) to the descriptions of a vast expanse of water farther than the eye could see. Then he’d told Lance all about Balmera, because Lance had never seen a mountain before, and was fascinated by how tall it was. It was a silly thing to be fascinated over, but they had fun exchanging stories, and had become fast friends that day.   
  
Lance promised to come back and visit one day, when he was old enough to go adventuring. Hunk had wished him and his family a safe travel as they departed for the pass. He’d been sad to see them go, especially Lance, but he’d hoped they found a good life in the city.  
  
Then the Mist had come.  
  
Hunk only remembers bits and pieces of that. He remembers fog rolling in, and he remembers his parents’ confusion. He remembers the monsters coming out of the Mist, attacking viciously. He remembers being scared. He remembers his mother grabbing his hand and telling him to run, and he remembers his father stuffing whatever essentials he could into a rucksack and running after. They’d abandoned the inn. Hunk’s last memory of it was looking over his shoulder to see the east rooms starting to burn.  
  
There had been no place to run to—the pass would be difficult to navigate with so little, and the Mist had come from the paths leading to other towns and cities. So the village leader had ordered everyone deep into Balmera itself. Deeper and deeper still, until not even the Mist could quite get down far enough, and the Seru monsters couldn’t reach them.  
  
Hunk doesn’t remember much of that flight into the dark, but he does remember when Lance showed up.  
  
One of the village hunters had found him. Kolos had been on Balmera itself when the Mist hit, hunting game for meat and furs. He’d found Lance, alone and wandering, but mostly unharmed. No one from Crystalline would ever think to leave a child behind in such a dangerous situation, and when Lance admitted to not knowing where his family was, Kolos had taken him to the Balmera retreat. Lance arrived hours after Hunk, battered and frightened, and had made an immediate beeline for Hunk and his family the moment he’d seen anyone he’d recognized.   
  
The village was kind. So were Hunk’s parents. They’d taken Lance in without a word of argument. He’d had no one else. And he’d lived in Deep Crystal with the rest of the villagers of Crystalline ever since, because there was no way to ever leave.  
  
But he wasn’t a mountain villager. It was hard for most of the people for Crystalline to live underground for so long, but Balmera had always been their home and their livelihood, and they still appreciated it. Lance was an outlander. He needed ocean. He needed sky. He needed _outside._   
  
Lance wraps his arms around himself, but takes a deep breath. “Yeah,” he says after a moment. “Yeah, they…they could still be alive. I don’t know what happened to them when I got split from them. They…they could be totally fine.”  
  
“They could have made it to Niloofar,” Hunk suggests, seizing his chance. That was the village on the other side of the mountain, connected to the Balmera pass. “Maybe it’s safe there. Or maybe the Mist is only on this side of the mountain range. Maybe everything on the other side is totally fine.”   
  
Lance doesn’t look convinced. He never does, with these arguments, even though Hunk makes them constantly. “We weren’t even halfway up the pass when the Mist came,” Lance says. “It was so confusing…that’s how I got separated. But I don’t think they could have gotten over it.”   
  
Hunk does’t think so either, if he’s truthful. He’s a practical sort of person, and he’s listened to Lance recount his stories dozens of times. But there could be other ways to survive. Lance had, after all.  
  
“Maybe…” Lance hesitates, but then says with more hope in his voice, “Maybe the lion found them. It could have saved them like it saved me.”  
  
Hunk winces despite himself. “Lance…”  
  
“I’m serious,” Lance says. “I _saw_ it. You believe me, don’t you?”  
  
“Yes,” Hunk says automatically, even though he doesn’t exactly. He believes that _Lance_ believes it, though. He’s just not sure the story is true.   
  
Ten years ago, Kolos had found Lance wandering over a mile from the mountain pass. Kolos—and later, every other adult in the village—had asked Lance how he’d found his way there. Had he been lost? Had he run because he’d been scared?   
  
“The lion with three eyes rescued me,” Lance insisted, every time.   
  
That never made sense, to Hunk. There had always been mountain lions on Balmera, but they weren’t friendly to humans. The hunters would kill them sometimes for their pelts, which were tawny and very pretty, or to keep them from getting at the sheep and goats some of the villagers raised. Hunk’s seen a fair few of them—great big cats with huge claws and teeth—but none of them ever had three eyes.   
  
But Lance had insisted, no matter how many times anyone asked him, no matter how many times the adults told him he’d been confused. His story was always that a lion with three eyes—one of them a brilliant, pretty blue—had saved him from a Seru monster, and told him to follow. Lance had, and the creature had led him over rocks and past trees, snarling at animals to drive them away and leaping on attacking Seru, until suddenly it had vanished. Lance had been scared, until Kolos found him, not five minutes later.   
  
Lance had never seen the three-eyed mountain lion again, and none of their hunters or scouts had ever seen it, either. Kolos reported only seeing Seru monsters and the normal creatures of the Balmera on the day he’d found Lance. The creature had never been seen since. And absolutely no one believed it talked.  
  
The adults had all assumed Lance had been traumatized by the attack and losing his family. Hunk’s parents had done what they could to make Lance feel as welcome and as loved as possible, and treated him just like they did Hunk. Lance had appreciated it, but he’d also been smart enough to realize nobody believed his story, and he was only scaring people by keeping it up. Over time, he stopped sharing it, and usually just deflected if asked by saying that time was very confusing and he didn’t remember it well.  
  
With everyone but Hunk, anyway. Hunk’s always been willing to indulge his story to a degree, even if it doesn’t really make sense. He knows Lance believes it’s real, and if it’s real to his friend, it’s important somehow. But he’s not going to place any bets on this mythical three-eyed lion saving Lance’s family. It just doesn’t make _sense._   
  
“It’s real,” Lance says stubbornly, catching Hunk’s uncertainty. “She’s definitely real. That lion saved me. One day, I’m going to find a way to prove it.”  
  
It’s probably dead by now if it even really exists, Hunk thinks, but only to himself. Mountain lions don’t live that long, and probably even less with Seru out there. Seru are monsters. They’re dangerous, to humans especially, but probably to wildlife, too.   
  
Instead, he says, “You’d have to go outside to prove it. The scouts have never seen a mountain lion in the caverns. And there’s Mist out there. You’d have to wait until it goes away.”   
  
Lance grumbles to himself. “What if the Mist goes away and we don’t even know it, this far down?”  
“The scouts say it comes down far enough into the upper tunnels that they can tell it’s still there,” Hunk says. Deep Crystal is very far down, far below even the base of the mountain. There had been ruins here thousands of years ago, and a temple to the god Rem, that made it somewhat habitable. The Mist didn’t come this far down, and even some of the tunnels leading to it were safe from Seru. The village leader says it’s because the temple of Rem used to be holy, and it keeps the Seru at bay. Hunk thinks it just can’t get down far enough. It gives the village men and women some hunting grounds and places to grow and harvest subterranean mushrooms and cave larvae, but go too high and the first tendrils of the Mist are visible, and it’s clear the danger has not yet passed.   
  
Lance sighs, and seems to deflate. Hunk immediately feels sorry for making him feel bad, but they’ve got to be practical. It’s the only way to stay alive in the Mist.   
  
Still, he hates seeing Lance feel down, so he tries to cheer him up. “C’mon, you’re probably just in a bad mood ‘cause you’re hungry. Let’s go to Shay’s house. Like I said, her grandma is making stew, and we’re invited. You’ll feel a little better once you eat.”  
  
Lance doesn’t look entirely convinced, but he hops down off the boulders anyway. “Alright. I guess I’ve got nothing better to do.”   
  
That’s not the most enthusiastic response, but Hunk will take it. Maybe when they get to Shay’s house, hanging out with friends will cheer Lance up and make him feel better.  
  
They leave the small outcropping of rocks at the edge of Deep Crystal and head for the center, where the village proper is now. It’s actually one giant cavern, almost a full mile across, which gives the villagers more than enough room to live and work, and for the children to play. Down here at the heart of Balmera it should be pitch black, but the cavern is nicely lit by the crystal formations on the ceiling, walls, and even the floor, that have always grown on and in the mountain. They glow with an inner power that casts a soft, pleasant light in the caverns and gives the town its name.   
  
Around the edge of the cavern are four tunnel entrances, each leading to the upper levels, each posted with a guard to make sure nobody unauthorized leaves and nothing dangerous gets in. Even if the Mist and the Seru can’t get this far down, there are still creatures that roam in the mountain that can be quite dangerous to untrained civilians.   
  
The edges of the massive cavern don’t have much activity at the moment, but when they get closer to the center, signs of life become more prominent. The village is a strange combination of ancient ruins thousands of years old, reinforced with modern stone-working techniques to build homes Hunk might have once seen in Crystalline. At the very center is the old temple to Rem, with clusters of little homes around it. Nobody lives in the temple itself—it would be disrespectful, the village leader said. But it was used as their house of healing, and their school, or what passed for it. The leader said Rem would appreciate his temples being used for good things, to help others.   
  
Lance is silent for most of the trip, which is unusual. He still looks a little dejected, and is lost in his own thoughts. He only gives noncommittal answers Hunk’s chattering and questions, and he’s obviously distracted. Hunk’s not sure what’s going on in his head, but he has a feeling Lance still hasn’t forgotten their conversation.  
  
Shay’s house is at the northern edge of the village cluster. It’s a little bigger than the others, to hold her, her brother, her parents, and her grandmother, and also out of respect for the family. Shay’s parents, and grandmother before them, were the most intimately familiar with Balmera, both inside and out. They had hunted crystals for trade as long as their family line had existed, and knew the best ways to get to the old temple when the Mist had come. They had been the ones to suggest retreating to the temple in the first place. Because of them, a lot more people had survived the initial Seru attacks than might have otherwise.   
  
“Hunk!” Shay greets them delightedly, as they come closer. “Lance! We were beginning to wonder if you would be coming.”  
  
“Sorry,” Hunk says. “It took a little while to find Lance.”  
  
“My bad,” Lance says, appropriately sheepish. Hunk knows he’s still distracted, but he certainly does a good job of covering it up. “Thanks for waiting for us, though.”  
  
“Grandmother made plenty to go around,” Shay says, smiling. “We are happy to have you join us.”   
  
Rax is surly as usual—Hunk thinks he’s surly even when he’s happy. But the rest of the family is welcoming, and has more than enough of dinner to go around. Shay’s grandmother makes a mean cave root stew, and Hunk digs in with enthusiasm. The cave larvae used to be gross, but after ten years of living underground, with it being a primary source of protein for the villagers, he’s long since gotten used to it. Lance even finishes off two bowls, and he does seem to be in better spirits, enough to joke around with Rax and Shay. Even so, he’s still a lot quieter than he normally would be.   
  
When Hunk suggests the idea of a little two-on-two game of ball in one of the stone fields, Lance declines. “Sorry,” he says. “I’m not feeling so great, actually. My head kind of hurts a little. I think I’m gonna just go home and go to bed for now.”   
  
“Oh, dear,” Shay’s mother says. “That’s too bad, sweetheart. You should stop by the temple and get some medicine before you go home.”  
  
“Good idea,” Lance agrees. “Thank you for the dinner, though.” He nods politely to Shay’s grandma. “It was delicious, just like it always is.”  
  
The family seems taken in, but Hunk eyes Lance suspiciously. He’d been quieter at dinner, so he can see why people might think he was sick, but Hunk knows Lance better. He has a feeling Lance is up to something, especially after that conversation earlier.  
  
So he says, “I’m gonna make sure he gets home okay, then,” and gives Shay and Rax an apologetic look. “Maybe we can do a two-on-two match tomorrow when Lance is feeling better.”  
  
Rax scoffs, but Shay looks delighted. “That should be fun!” she agrees. “We will see you tomorrow, then.”   
  
Hunk and Lance say their goodbyes, but it’s not until they round the corner that Hunk finally leans in close and hisses to Lance, “What are you up to?”  
  
“I have a headache,” Lance says, giving Hunk an innocent—too deliberately innocent—look.  
  
“You do not,” Hunk says. “I know that look. It means you’re about to get us in trouble.”  
  
“ ‘Us’? You don’t have to come with me, Hunk. I’ll be fine on my own. I know you don’t have much of a sense of adventure.”  
  
“Adventure? Now I _know_ you’re gonna do something dangerous,” Hunk groans. “What are we doing this time?”  
  
“I told you, you don’t have to—“  
  
“I’m not letting you get in over your head without backup,” Hunk cuts him off. “Even if it means we’re _both_ gonna end up in certain peril…or worse, in trouble with the village leader.”   
  
Lance can’t help but smirk at that, just for a moment. “You’re all right, Hunk.”   
  
“Thank you. Still doesn’t answer what we’re doing.”  
  
Lance’s expression sobers. “Sneaking out into the tunnels.”  
  
“What! _Why?”_   
  
“I have to know,” Lance whispers. “I have to try to see the…the stars. The sun. If the Mist is still there, I need to see it with my own eyes. If the lion is out there—“  
  
 _“Lance—“_ Rem take him, Hunk _can’t_ let him do something stupid for that imaginary lion.  
  
“—it’s _real,_ Hunk! She’s real. And she’s strong enough to fight Seru. If she’s still out there, maybe she can help us. Help me. I have to try. I _have_ to.” His voice shakes, and his hands are trembling. “I can’t…ten _years_ , Hunk. I can’t live with a roof over my head like this forever. I _can’t_. Not with my family still out there and…I just can’t. I can’t keep living like this. I have to at least try.”   
  
Hunk can practically hear the raw pain and emotion in Lance’s voice, and it’s enough to make him hesitate. This isn’t Lance pulling one of his usual stupid pranks. This is serious….even if it still is pretty stupid.  
  
Hunk sighs. “For the record, this is a terrible idea.”   
  
Lance gives him a weak smile. “Maybe.”   
  
“We’re gonna want weapons. Even if we don’t meet Seru…”  
  
“Yeah. I’ve got my bow back home. And your dad has that cudgel you can use…”   
  
Hunk groans. “We’re going to get in so much trouble.”  
  
“Only if we don’t get caught.”  
  
“Or _dead.”_   
  
“We’re gonna be fine,” Lance says. “And maybe we can get help. If we can just find her…”  
  
Hunk thinks they’re more likely to get dead than help, but he doesn’t say that out loud. When Lance gets himself in over his head chasing a dream, at least Hunk will be there to be the voice of reason and drag him back home.  
  
Hunk almost hopes his parents are home to catch them in the act and stop this whole stupid adventure before it can even begin. But luck is on Lance’s side, not Hunk’s, and both his mother and father are out of the little house atop the ruins that they’d claimed as the Garret residence. Although they don’t own an inn anymore—there’s no point down here, with no visitors—they’re both still good at day to day tasks for feeding and housing many people, and both often volunteer to work with the food stores or at the temple to assist other villagers.   
  
It means Hunk and Lance can grab whatever they need from the house with no chance of being caught. Lance grabs his bow and a quiver of hand-made arrows, and tries to run out the door right then. Hunk slows him down and refuses to budge until they plan for the trip a little better.  
  
“It’s not gonna be that long, Hunk!” Lance says, scowling. He taps his foot impatiently as Hunk fills a small satchel with a canteen, some dried foods from the pantry, and a few medical supplies and bandages. “Just in and out, we don’t have to pack for all this.”  
  
 _“I_ don’t remember how to get to the surface, do you?” Hunk asks. “The tunnels are really complicated. That’s why Shay’s family had to show everyone how to get down here ten years ago. We could be in there a while. And what if monsters attack us? Even if we don’t see Seru, we might need first aid supplies. If we have to do this, at least we should do it right the first time.”   
  
Lance grumbles, but finally nods. “Okay. Fine. Just…hurry. Who knows when your parents will be back?”   
  
In truth Hunk had been hoping to stall long enough for just that, but he doubts his mother and father will be back any time soon. Still, he picks up the pace for packing and settles the bag over his shoulders. “There. Now I just need a weapon…”  
  
His father’s cudgel does the trick. His father had never really been a warrior; it had mostly been used to threaten patrons who’d had a little too much to drink and didn’t like being asked to leave, back when Crystalline still stood. Most adults in Deep Crystal had some combat training now, for emergencies, but his father didn’t use this often. He wasn’t one of the scouts or hunters, and his skills were usually put to better use in the cavern helping with daily tasks. He might not even realize it was missing.   
  
“Alright,” Hunk finally says. “Let’s go.”  
  
“Great,” Lance says. “We’re going to the south tunnel.”   
  
Hunk frowns. “That’s not the way we first came in from Crystalline. Everyone came in the west tunnel.”   
  
“I know, but we’re not trying to get to Crystalline,” Lance says. “Just…outside. Anywhere on the mountain. And the south tunnel has that little chamber on the side you can hide in during patrols. I know—I’ve tested it.”  
  
“I’m not surprised,” Hunk grumbles. It’s not the first time Lance has tried to sneak out of the cavern, although he’s never actually succeeded. The guards usually turn him away, or turn him into the village leader. They’re usually kind about it, but Lance is a known troublemaker in the community at this point. If any guard saw him coming, they were going to be…well, on their guard.   
  
Which means sneaking. Hunk groans. He _hates_ sneaking. Hide and seek was always his worst game.   
  
Lance grins at him. “Relax. I’ll get us both there. Just do what I do.”  
  
Getting to the tunnels mostly unseen is fairly easy, at least. It’s evening, so most people are in their homes, eating or getting ready to turn in. Hunk and Lance duck between boulders and stalagmites, which obscures easy line of sight of them for the guard at the southern tunnel.   
  
Then it’s a waiting game. The guards will mostly stand at the interior, keeping an eye on the cavern itself, but occasionally they’ll turn around and patrol farther into the tunnel itself to make sure everything is in order and no monsters are sneaking down the passage towards the little subterranean village. When their guard takes his patrol, Lance gets up and bolts for the entrance, and Hunk stifles a yelp as he runs after.   
  
They duck into the tunnel and sneak into a small chamber just off to one side of the tunnels, little more than the size of a small storage room. It’s a tight squeeze with the two of them, and they barely make it in before the guard returns. But he doesn’t see them, and takes up his position at the entrance again.   
  
Lance tiptoes very quietly out behind the guard’s back into the tunnels beyond. Hunk, grumbling in his head about what a terrible idea this is, follows.   
  
The tunnels get darker, once they’re away from the cavern of Deep Crystal. Very few of the glowing crystals that give their home its name grow out here, but thankfully Hunk had thought ahead for that. He’d packed a few of the small crystals used to light home interiors, and pulls out two of them, handing one to Lance. “See? This is why planning ahead is a good thing.”  
  
Lance looks sheepish as he takes his crystal. “Okay, okay. You were right, I was wrong. Now let’s see what we can find.”  
  
The answer to that is ‘nothing,’ or at least nothing of interest. The tunnels go on for ages, with lots of twists and turns and other off-shoots. The scouts have left little markers on the walls to indicate which turns go where, which is the only reason they aren’t hopelessly lost within half an hour of sneaking out, but even then Hunk still _feels_ hopelessly lost. The tunnels all look the same—dark, craggy rocks with the occasional crystal studded in them. They don’t see any Mist, and they don’t even come across monsters.  
  
“How do we even know we’re going the right way?” Hunk whispers. It feels wrong to talk too loudly here.  
  
“I keep picking the paths that slope up,” Lance says. “We want to go up, right?”  
  
“I guess,” Hunk admits. He doesn’t really remember coming down here ten years ago. He’d been seven, and too scared to really pay attention.   
  
They go on. Hunk isn’t sure how long they walk, but he knows his feet start to hurt after a while, so he guesses it’s at least an hour or two. He wonders if anybody knows they’re gone yet. He wonders how long it will take people to realize they’re out in the tunnels, and if they’ll send search parties.   
  
He and Lance are going to be in trouble for the rest of their _lives._   
  
As they go higher it starts to get chillier. Despite himself, Hunk shivers. Deep Crystal never gets that cold. At the heart of Balmera Mountain it’s always the same temperature, comfortably warm, and they don’t feel any temperature variation from seasons, wind, rain, or fog. It’s been so long since he’d experienced those things, he hadn’t even thought to pack a coat or extra shirt.   
  
Lance feels it too, because he slings his bow over his shoulder, and wraps his arms around himself again. “Forgot about this,” he says. His voice sounds a little shaken—probably because this proves his exact fears from earlier.   
  
“There are worse things to forget,” Hunk says. “I like being comfortable.” Not cold, and not feeling all clammy.  
  
“Yeah, well—“ Lance begins, but then he stops—and stops dead in place, too. Hunk yelps as he walks right into Lance from behind, and Lance stumbles forward with a hiss. “Watch it!”  
  
“Warn a guy when you’re stopping!” Hunk snaps back, a little sulky. “I didn’t—“  
  
 _“Shh!”_   
  
Hunk freezes at that. Lance sweeps his crystal around the tunnel, and then crouches down to the floor, studying intently.   
  
Hunk sees it at the same time Lance does. The floor is moving faintly, shimmering just a little. No, he realizes, not the floor—the air above it. It’s thin and translucent, barely visible in the weak crystal-light and the darkness of the caverns. But the air roils just a little, like there’s a very thin layer of fog in it.  
  
Or _Mist._   
  
“I think we came too far up,” Lance says, very softly.   
  
That doesn’t make sense to Hunk. According to the cave markings the scouts have left, this level should still be safe. Of course, he could be reading them wrong, but…  
  
Lance is still talking. “It’s…it’s still thin, but this is…this is…”  
  
“Mist,” Hunk says. His heart starts to hammer.  
  
Lance looks crestfallen. “It really is still up here,” he whispers. “The world is still…I still can’t…”  
  
“Lance, we need to _go,”_ Hunk interrupts him. He feels awful for his friend, but there are better times and places to feel sorry about the way the world is. “We need to get out of here. _Now.”_   
  
Lance shakes his head, and seems to come back to himself. “Yeah. Yeah, you’re probably right.” He starts backing slowly down the tunnel, but frowns. “Why’s it so low, though? The markers said it’s still safe.”  
  
“You saw those too? I thought I just read them wrong,” Hunk admits.  
  
Lance shakes his head. “No, I don’t think so. Do you think…do you think the Mist is coming in deeper?”  
  
Hunk bites his lip as he turns to head back. “I don’t know. If it is, we should probably tell the village leader, but…” But if they do, they’re going to have to admit they’ve been wandering unauthorized in dangerous tunnels.   
  
Lance grimaces at that, clearly coming to the same conclusion. “We’re screwed. But if it is moving deeper, people could get hurt. We could—“  
  
From farther up the tunnel comes the sound of insect-like chittering, and moments later, the sound of something scraping along the stone. Hunk’s eyes go wide, and he stammers, “Run!”  
  
Neither of them hesitate. They both bolt back the way they came. They have no idea what’s coming for them, but if they’re in the Mist there’s a sure bet it’s a Seru, and if they meet it they’re dead.   
  
But the creature is faster than they are, and when Hunk looks over his shoulder, he can just barely see it ducking around the corner in their dim crystal lights. It’s huge, taking up most of the tunnel. It looks like a very long caterpillar, but its front half is more like a mantis, with a wedge-shaped head, two antenna-like horns, and two long, wicked-looking sickle arms. It’s entire body glimmers slightly in the crystal-light, like it’s made out of a shiny carapace, but it looks carved and just the slightest bit artificial. That means it’s a Seru, and that means they’re in deep trouble.   
  
_“Run!”_ Hunk repeats, terrified.  
  
They run as fast as they can, but the Seru follows, still making its strange insect-chittering noises. Its scythe arms occasionally clack and scrape along the walls as it slithers after them. It’s quite skilled at moving in the tunnels, while Hunk and Lance are constantly tripping over rocks and crystals in their path. Slowly but surely, it inevitably gains on them.   
  
“We just have to get out of the Mist,” Lance gasps as he runs. “If we get out of the Mist, it can’t follow!”  
  
But the Mist seems to be stretching even deeper downward than before. Hunk can’t see the markers anymore in their wild rush, but he swears this area was clear when they came up. What is _happening?_ Why can’t they get away from this thing?  
  
Hunk stumbles, and yelps when he finally keels over, falling flat on his face. _“Hunk!”_ Lance yells. He immediately whirls, putting an arrow to the string and firing at the Seru to try and slow it while Hunk scrambles to his feet.  
  
The Seru is hit, and the arrow sticks out of one of its artificial eyes. But it doesn’t seem to even feel the injury, and continues to barrel forward.   
  
Lance tries again, firing a second arrow. This time, the Seru does stop, raising both of its scythe hands. A blast of powerful wind emanates from the creature, and the arrow goes flying wide, clacking off the tunnel walls and snapping. Lance and Hunk are both bowled over from the strength of the blast, and Hunk loses his footing as soon as he regains it. His light-crystal goes flying out of his hands, farther down the tunnel back from where they’d come, glimmering in the Mist.  
  
They both try to scramble to their feet, but the Seru is already moving again, coming at them too fast. “This is it!” Hunk yells, frantic. He gets to his knees, looking back down the way they came. _“Help!”_ He yells. “Help, there’s a Seru—“  
  
No humans come out of the darkness from back home. But suddenly, in the weak crystal light in the distance, Hunk catches the glimmer of predatory eyes in the gloom. _Three_ of them.   
  
The Seru is nearly on them, scythes scraping as it slithers closer. The eyes in the dark on the other side of them begin to grow larger as the creature comes forward. They’re surrounded. This is it. The end.  
  
But then Lance, on hands and knees beside him, suddenly whispers, “She’s _here.”_ And he doesn’t sound scared. He sounds _awed._   
  
And then the eyes in the dark move, too fast for Hunk to track well. A mountain lion—the biggest one he’s ever seen—comes bounding out of the darkness. She leaps over Hunk and Lance, all liquid grace and incredible speed, ricocheting off of one of the tunnel walls to land squarely between the humans and the Seru.   
  
And then she roars.  
  
The roar is so loud Hunk has to clamp his hands over his ears, even as he watches in shock, still sitting on the ground. It echos throughout the tunnels, reverberates off the walls; he can feel it vibrating up through the stone beneath him. It’s a roar that says _stay back, or I will strike._ Hunk has never understood an animal so clearly.  
  
The Seru doesn’t. It keeps charging. Hunk doesn’t know if Seru can feel regret, but he’s pretty sure if they can, this one is about to.  
  
The mountain lion strikes. It leaps at the Seru with shocking speed, ducking beneath both of its swinging scythe arms as the Seru retaliates. With incredible agility and precision, the mountain lion slips around behind the Seru, leaps onto its back, and slams it to the ground. Her jaws fasten around the Seru’s spindly neck, and crush. The Seru chitters for a moment, but then it shatters, and its odd artificial carapace dissolves into dust and scatters across the tunnel floor.  
  
Hunk stares.  
  
He’s never seen a Seru defeated before. They’re so strong. So _powerful._ Some of their hunters managed to fend them off long enough to escape, but even then, they’d been injured badly. And this one had just…just _burst,_ like it was made of sand.   
  
And the mountain lion— _Lance’s_ mountain lion—had done it.  
  
The great cat lands on her feet easily when the Seru dissolves beneath her, seemingly unfazed. With slow, deliberate steps, she starts to pace forward towards the two of them. Hunk scrambles back nervously. A mountain lion that size could easily eat the two of them for dinner, and if it’s strong enough to take out Seru, they’re screwed.  
  
But the mountain lion doesn’t attack. She paces close enough to be well within their weak crystal lights, and then sits back on her haunches, wrapping her long tail around her feet. For such a great cat she looks quite elegant and prim. And she really _does_ look like she has three eyes. Two are the normal gold of most mountain lions, but there’s a third right between her eyes that’s a brilliant blue.  
  
Hunk frowns, and squints at the mountain lion in confusion. No, that’s not an eye at all. There’s some sort of blue crystal stuck to this mountain lion’s forehead, between its eyes, with a smaller red gem right in its center. It could easily be mistaken for a third eye, for a confused—or scared—little kid, though.   
  
He glances at Lance, and stammers, “I am sorry for ever doubting you.”  
  
Lance grins delightedly. “I _told_ you she was real! I told you.”   
  
_“Hello again, Lance. It has been quite some time. I am happy to see you have grown safely.”_   
  
Hunk’s jaw drops, and he looks between Lance and the mountain lion in surprise. He hadn’t seen the creature’s mouth open all, but it was _unmistakably_ talking.  
  
“I knew you were real!” Lance says, as if talking to a _giant cat_ with a crystal stuck to its face isn’t a completely weird occurrence. “I knew I hadn’t just imagined you when I was scared. I _knew_ it.”   
  
_“Your faith in me is deeply inspiring, Lance. Perhaps that is one of the reasons I was drawn to your young mind in the first place.”_   
  
“This…this is really happening,” Hunk says. “This—just so we’re all clear, there is a cat with a crystal stuck to its head _talking_ to us. In our _brains.”_   
  
“It’s great, right?” Lance says, excited.  
  
It’s hard to see it on the mountain lion’s face, but Hunk can _feel_ her amusement. _“I am not a crystal,”_ she says. _“Though you are correct about me talking in your head. I do not possess a voice, and I am afraid my current host’s vocal chords are not meant for speaking.”_   
  
“Your…host?” Hunk says. “What does that mean?”  
  
 _“This beast,”_ the mountain lion says. Her tail flicks delicately. _“She is a willing host and desires to hunt the Seru that have invaded her territory, but she is not gifted with words.”_   
  
“Then…if you’re not the lion, you’re the….um…” Lance hesitates, and points at the mountain lion’s face, and its third ‘eye.’ “The…not-crystal?”  
  
The mountain lion draws herself up proudly. _“Correct,”_ she not-says. _“I am Nixa, Ra-Seru of Ice and Ocean. It is my honor to see you once again, Lance, and to meet your friend.”_   
  
Lance grins, but Hunk feels his heart hammer in his chest again. “A Seru? You’re a _Seru?_ Lance, we have to run!” Already he’s scrambling to his feet, panicked.  
  
But the Ra-Seru-lion think-says, _“Be at peace. I will not harm you. I am not a normal Seru. I have a greater purpose—to protect humanity, and to banish the Mist.”_   
  
Hunk’s not so sure he buys it, but Lance says, “Yeah, _chill,_ Hunk. She saved our lives. And she saved me before, too. If she was a normal Seru she could have killed us, or possessed us.”  
  
“She’s attached to a mountain lion,” Hunk says, doubtfully. “How is that any different?” But even as he says it, he knows it _is_ different. This Ra-Seru—Nixa, was it?—doesn’t feel dangerous, like the other one had. He doesn’t feel _quite_ so scared of her as maybe he should be.  
  
As if in response to his thoughts, the mountain lion moves. Hunk flinches back, but she only settles herself down on her belly on the ground, folding her front paws beneath her. It reminds him more of a house-cat than a dangerous predator, deliberately unthreatening, and Hunk slowly calms.   
  
_“As I said,”_ Nixa repeats patiently, _“This host is willing, although she has a simple mind. She wishes to hunt invaders. That is my purpose as well. We are in agreement, so she does not mind my presence.”_  
  
“And that’s…to hunt Seru?” Hunk asks, skeptic.  
  
 _“In part,”_ Nixa not-says. _“More importantly, to protect humanity. That is the order given to me by Tieg Himself.”_   
  
“Tieg?” Lance asks, confused.  
  
 _“In this region of the world, I believe you know him as Rem.”_   
  
“Oh,” Hunk says, eyes wide, as he thinks of the temple below in Deep Crystal. If what this Ra-Seru is saying is true—and it _feels_ true, as skeptical as he is, like a gut instinct—then this has suddenly gotten a lot bigger and more dangerous.  
  
“Is that why you saved me?” Lance asks. “Ten years ago, I mean.”   
  
Nixa can’t actually smile, but Hunk can actually feel her warmth in her thought-voice. _“Yes,”_ she not-says. _“I saved you then because you were a child, and defenseless, but also because your mind was so bright and clear. I could feel it even from my Genesis Tree. It is a perfect match to my own, and a beacon that guided me directly to you. But you were too small then to bond with me properly._  
  
 _“So I guided you where you would be safe, with your own kind, able to grow stronger. I have guarded your village, and hunted Seru that wander too close. I have listened to your mind and heart grow from afar. They are very strong.”_   
  
“You’ve been protecting us all this time?” Hunk asks, startled.   
  
_“Of course.”_   
  
“But why didn’t anyone ever see you?” Hunk asks. “Lance told the story about a lion with three eyes for _years._ Nobody ever saw you, so they all thought he was crazy.” Lance gives him a hurt look, and Hunk shrugs. “I’m sorry, but it’s true.”  
  
Nixa not-sounds remorseful in his head. _“Very few people are capable of hearing a Ra-Seru’s words,”_ she explains. _“Most of your brethren cannot. I could sense the fear in the surface levels of their thoughts. I did not wish to frighten them, or to have them attack me. To them, I would only be a dangerous creature. But I have protected quietly, where I can, for many years.”_   
  
“What about…” Lance hesitates. “You found me years ago, Nixa. Could you…did you find my family, too? Lead them somewhere safe? Maybe they couldn’t make it to Deep Crystal, but…”  
  
Hunk can actually _feel_ Nixa’s sorrow. The great cat gets up from the ground and pads over to them, and this time it doesn’t scare Hunk. She pushes her head into Lance’s hands and against his chest, rubbing against him like a cat might when trying to comfort a distressed owner. _“I am sorry, Lance,”_ she says. _“Those many years ago, I could sense your concern for your family. When you were safe, I went to search for them, too. But I was too late. They are possessed by maddened Seru.”_  
  
Lance stares. “Wh…what?”  
  
“Oh, man,” Hunk moans. “I’m so sorry, Lance…” All those years of hoping for nothing.  
  
 _“I have protected them where I could,”_ Nixa promises. _“I herded them to one of the way-stations along the pass and blocked them in. I have ensured no natural predators hunted them. That is the most that I can do, on my own.”_   
  
“Oh…” Lance whispers. Nixa’s mountain lion head nudges his shoulder again, and his arms wrap around her neck automatically, seeking comfort. She stays still patiently, permitting him to cling to her. “But…but you could lead us there, right? You’re strong. And once we’re there, we could pull the Seru off, right? And lead them back here, where it’s safe.”  
  
 _“We cannot do that,”_ Nixa not-says. _“A Seru must never be removed from the human it is attached to in the Mist. To do so would kill both human and Seru.”_  
  
Lance shudders. Hunk puts an arm on his shoulder as comfortingly as he can. Lance clings tighter to the big mountain lion’s neck, and buries his face in her fur. Hunk can feel his shoulders shaking.   
  
Hunk feels like crying, himself. He thinks about what it might have been like, if his mom or dad never came back, if he learned they’d been possessed by monsters, and he shudders at the thought. He’s never felt more fortunate than now, and never felt so bad about feeling so relieved. Poor Lance.  
  
 _“Hush, Lance,”_ Nixa not-says. “ _This is not safe place to cry, and there is work to be done. We cannot take the Seru off of them, but there may be another way to save them.”_  
  
Lance’s head jerks up in surprise. “What…there is? _How?”_   
  
_“The Genesis Trees,”_ Nixa not-says. _“The cradles of the Ra-Seru, gifted to Legaia by Tieg—Rem—to save humanity. If we can revive the Genesis Tree on the northern side of the mountain, it will drive the Mist back.”_   
  
“And you can do that?” Lance asks, startled.   
  
_“Not me,”_ Nixa not-says. _“We. Had I the power to revive the Genesis Tree myself, I would have done so years ago, to spare all of humanity the torment. But I am not strong enough on my own to achieve this. To do this, I must ask for your help, Lance.”_   
  
“Why me?”  
  
 _“Your mind is uniquely suited to mine. You resonate with my abilities most strongly. That is how I found you so many years ago. As a team, we can be incredibly powerful—strong enough to awaken the Genesis Tree, and drive back the Mist.”_  
  
“I’ll do it,” Lance says, without hesitation. “If it helps me save my family, and drive the Mist back, I’ll do it. What do I need to do?”  
  
 _“I must attach to you,”_ Nixa not-says. _“We must bond as a team. But we cannot do that here. I have been bound to this host for so long that I require the power of a Genesis Tree to free myself and bond to a new host.”_   
  
Hunk frowns. “Lance…you know we’re never supposed to put on Seru.”  
  
“Nixa’s a Ra-Seru, not a Seru,” Lance says. “And if she can help me save my family, then I don’t care what the rules are.”   
  
Nixa laughs softly in their heads, and her not-voice is warm and friendly. _“The warmth of family is so very strong in your heart, even after so many years, Lance. I admire it. Your adaptability, your friendliness, your willingness to do the right thing…all of these things make you an excellent partner. I will be honored to work alongside you.”_   
  
“Okay, that’s great and all,” Hunk says, “But if we have to revive a Genesis Tree, why not the one on the south side of the mountain? Balmera Mountain has two, doesn’t it? That one would be closer.” His parents told him stories of the trees sometimes. His father had promised to take him to the southern tree when he was older, but it could be a dangerous journey for a seven year old, and he’d never seen it.  
  
Nixa’s thoughts sober. _“The southern Genesis Tree was once my cradle,” she says. “But the Mists have choked the life out of it, without my heart to bolster it. Ten years was too much, but even then, it may yet have survived. But the Enemy attacks tonight.”_   
  
“The what?” Lance asks.  
  
 _“Whoever controls this Mist…they strike tonight,”_ Nixa not-says. _“I felt your confusion at how deep the Mists have come. Even now, it flows towards your village. The enemy has killed the southern Genesis Tree, and with its loss, the Mists can flow deeper. The northern one yet lives, and is our last chance to save your people.”_   
  
“But it’s all the way on the other side of the mountain!” Hunk says. “How are we supposed to even get there in time?”  
  
 _“I will lead you,”_ Nixa not-says. _“I know the ways. But we will cut through your village for more speed. Time is of the essence. We must reach the tree before it can be destroyed, and before too much harm can befall your Deep Crystal.”_   
  
“Can you protect us on the way there?” Lance asks.  
  
 _“Yes. This I so swear.”_   
  
“What about the rest of the village, though?” Hunk asks, skeptical. If the Mist is going deeper, then his mother and father, Shay and Rax and their family, everyone in the village is in danger. The Mist is scary, but he doesn’t want to see anyone get hurt. If Nixa could protect them…  
  
But the Ra-Seru is apologetic. _“I do not have the strength on my own to protect the full village, not anymore,”_ she says. _“This is greater than hunting to keep the dangerous monsters at bay. An army comes. To save them, we must reach the Genesis Tree.”_  
  
That doesn’t seem like enough, to Hunk. It’s an idealized goal that’s so far away. His family is there right now, and they need to be safe.  
  
Nixa seems to sense his hesitation. She pulls her neck free from Lance’s arms, and pads over to sit in front of Hunk. _“You wish for the strength to shield and protect those dearest to you. I think perhaps there is something else at the northern Genesis Tree that will grant you the strength to do that wherever you choose to make your stand.”_  
  
Hunk frowns. “What do you mean?”  
  
 _“My brother slumbers, there. With his help, we may yet restore the Tree and save your people.”_  
  
“Your brother…you mean another Ra-Seru?” Lance asks. “You said the Trees were your cradles. Is there another Ra-Seru in that tree?”  
  
 _“Yes,”_ Nixa not-says. _“And if I am right, he will appreciate Hunk’s mindset as much as I do yours, Lance. Hunk—you are not suited to me, but you resonate strongly with another Ra-Seru. That is the only way you could hear my words.”_  
  
Hunk is a little alarmed by that. He doesn’t want anything to do with Seru, really. But…but his family could be in danger. And if this other Ra-Seru can help protect them…then…well, then it’s like Lance said. He doesn’t care about the rules. He just wants them to be safe.   
  
_“Otherwise, I fear there is naught else I can do,”_ Nixa not-says. _“This form I possess is powerful, but it is still mortal, and not unlimited. She is quite old now, and eventually, she will fall in battle. If she does not, her time will come very soon from her age. If she dies while I am with her, I will die, too, and so too will the chance to save my brother and your people, and the Genesis Tree.”_  
  
“Hunk…” Lance gives him a significant look. “It’s not even a question. We _have_ to. To save our families, we have to.”   
  
Hunk wrings his hands for a moment, but then nods. “Yeah. Yeah, it’s…it’s scary, but you’re right. We have to.”   
  
_“Good,”_ Nixa not-says. _“You are both worthy warriors, and good people. I believe we can yet save the world, together. But we must hurry. Follow.”_ And she springs up from the floor and lopes down the tunnels Lance and Hunk had originally come from.   
  
“Woah, wait up!” Lance darts after her. Hunk pauses long enough to grab his discarded light-crystal, and bolts after them.  
  
Nixa moves fast and with purpose. They come across two more Seru on the way back to Deep Crystal, but she barely pauses as she leaps on them, fastening her jaws around their necks until they crumble into dust. Hunk and Lance never stop running; it feels like they never even slow down. Nixa is practically a force of nature. If this is what she calls not powerful enough to really do anything, Hunk is both excited and afraid to see what she could do when properly bonded with Lance.   
  
They reach Deep Crystal in record time. Hunk tries to come up with a decent excuse for the guard, to explain why they’re out in the tunnels when they shouldn’t be, but the words die on his lips as they reach the entrance. The guard is dead, facedown with a deep bloody gash across his back and neck—one that matches the massive scythe arms of the type of Seru they’d seen earlier.  
  
“They’re already here!” Hunk moans. Lance is wide-eyed and horrified beside him.  
  
 _“We must hurry,”_ Nixa not-says. _“Run after me, and do not look back!”_  
  
“But the others—“ Hunk protests. His family. His friends. People he’s grown up with his entire life. Even as they start to run across the cavern, he can _see_ them being set upon by Seru—the strange bladed ones they had seen before, and another that looks not unlike a mountain lion, but made out of ice, with massive spines jutting out of its back. Deep Crystal is already frigid, and Hunk is starting to see his own breath. People are being hurt. People are being killed. He wants to take his father’s cudgel and run to help them drive off the dangers, any way he can.  
  
 _“We cannot help them like this!”_ Nixa not-says. He can feel her understanding and her remorse, but also her resolve. “ _To save them, you must run. We must run as fast as we can to reach the Tree. Only the Genesis Tree can save them! Only my brother can help you find the power to always protect them!”_   
  
It hurts more than anything, but Hunk keeps running after Nixa as she cuts a path through the Seru ahead of them, leading to the northern exit to Deep Crystal. Hunk tries to ignore the panicked calls for help, and pleading to Rem to save them. Beside him, Lance’s face is pale with fear, and he follows after Nixa like a man possessed.   
  
_We’re going to save them,_ Hunk tells himself. _We’re going to save everyone. Mom, dad, Shay, Rax, everyone. We’re the only ones that can._   
  
They dive into the northern tunnel as fast as they can. The guard here is also dead, but they can’t even spare him a glance. Nixa leads the way, and they’re going so fast Hunk can’t even read the marker signs anymore; he’s hopelessly lost in minutes. The Mist grows thicker and more oppressive the farther up they travel, cloying and wet on Hunk’s face, and it makes his skin clammy and covered in goosebumps.   
  
There are Seru here too, of course. More of the same ones they’d found in Deep Crystal are here, too, rushing down the corridors to join in on the attack. Nixa dispatches all of them with speed and grace, and doesn’t give them a chance to strike. Hunk still has his cudgel at the ready, and Lance has his bow in hands with an arrow on the string, but neither are called to fight just yet. That’s fortunate, because Hunk had seen how effective they were against Seru.   
  
Hunk almost doesn’t realize when they’re out of the tunnels, at first. It’s still so dark, and the chill of night has already drifted down into the mountain, so he doesn’t feel the difference in the air. But there’s a sensation of emptiness around him suddenly, of something solid and protective missing, and Hunk realizes with a start that there are no more walls, no more ceilings. When he looks up, the roof is so far away it’s impossible to reach, and cascades of glittering lights are scattered across it, brilliant and beautiful.  
  
“Stars,” Lance whispers. Even terrified, even breathing hard from the run, his voice is still filled with awe, and his eyes are suspiciously glittery and wet. “Gods…I never thought I’d see them again…”  
  
They’re beautiful, but they’re strange too. It feels a little unsettling, to not have stone all around him after so long. Hunk’s not sure what to make of it.  
  
 _“Look alive, warriors!”_ Nixa calls to them. Even with her tawny coat, she’s very hard to see in the darkness of night, blending in with the shadows and stones of the mountainside. Her Ra-Seru form glimmers blue though, and between that and Hunk’s glowing crystals, it’s enough for them to see by. Just barely.  
  
Just barely, but still enough to see the faint green glow in the distance that she’s running towards. The Genesis Tree pulses slowly with green energy, like a living heartbeat. Hunk’s never seen a Genesis Tree before, but it looks beautiful; like it’s carved out of green crystals gifted from Balmera itself. It doesn’t look very healthy, though, at least as far as Hunk can tell. It doesn’t have any leaves, and the trunk and few branches it has look withered and cracked. There’s a ten-foot radius around it that’s clear of the Mist, but Hunk swears it’s creeping ever closer to the Genesis Tree even as he watches.  
  
 _“We were almost too late,”_ Nixa not-says in their heads, as she rushes for the Genesis Tree. _“We must hurry. The Tree grows weak. If it dies, we may never be able to save my brother, or the village!”_   
  
Lance narrows his eyes in determination, and although he looks exhausted, he picks up the pace anyway. He vaults over the nearest stones and rushes after Nixa towards the tree.  
  
Hunk follows, but he’s never been nearly so agile as Lance, and he certainly can’t hold up against a mountain lion. He runs after them, but he looks around as he does, anxious. Are there more Seru up here? Or perfectly normal mountain lions and bears that want to eat them? The last thing he needs is to make it to the Genesis Tree after all this and end up dead because of something completely mundane but scary.   
  
It’s only because he’s looking at all that he sees the danger. He almost swears it’s a rock, at first—a tall pillar of stone, balanced on top of another boulder. But it moves, slowly, and in the starlight he realizes it’s not stone at all. It’s a _person_ —a person who he swears is wearing long, dark robes covered in strange symbols, with a hood up over their head to conceal their face.   
  
The person raises their hand, and Hunk catches a glimpse of long, glittering nails—claws?—as they outstretch towards the Genesis Tree. He’s not sure how he knows, but suddenly he’s all too aware nothing good come out of that gesture, and he yells, “Look out!”  
  
There’s a crack like thunder as lightning bursts from the figure’s hand. It crashes into the stone just inches from Nixa, but the great cat leaps back just in time, turning to hurl herself at Lance. She bodily knocks him to the ground and shields him as stone shrapnel scatters everywhere. Lance yelps, and curls up as best as he can beneath her.   
  
Hunk’s farther back, and the stones don’t reach him. So he’s able to watch as the figure turns to face them. He can’t see their face, but the person speaks, and he can _hear_ disgust in that voice.  
  
“Deal with them,” the figure says. It sound like a woman—an older woman, her voice hoarse and rasping from age, but no less commanding for it. “I have other tasks to attend to this evening for the Emperor.”  
  
Hunk’s not sure who she’s talking to, at first. But then she waves her clawed hand at the ground again. This time, there’s no lightning strike, no attack. A dark ripple of shadow appears in the stones, a wide circle in the dark, and then something ghosts out of it.  
  
It’s a Seru, but it’s the biggest one Hunk’s seen yet. This one has a thick body, wide, spiked shoulders, and a triangular head a gaping mouth and with two massive horns sprouting from its skull. It doesn’t have legs—it floats instead, dragging two long arms with wicked-looking claws each as long as Hunk’s forearm after it. The creature finishes dragging itself out of the shadows, and turns to face the figure that summoned it.  
  
“Kill them,” the figure says. “Kill the Genesis Tree. Kill everyone inside. Do this, Prorok, and perhaps the Emperor will reward you with a better form.”  
  
The Seru doesn’t speak, but it does whirl to face Lance, Hunk, and Nixa, claws spread wide. Its face doesn’t seem made for expressions, but Hunk could almost swear this one feels furious—and desperate.   
  
The figure doesn’t seem to be paying them any attention anymore. She watches, for a moment, and Hunk is just wondering if Lance could maybe get a shot off with his bow—but then she vanishes, right before his eyes.  
  
Hunk yelps. “Where’d the scary lady go?”  
  
 _“She is gone,”_ Nixa not-says. She’s already nudging Lance to his feet. _“And currently not our concern. We must defeat this abomination. I sense something that was once human, but that is no ordinary Seru it wears. We cannot permit it to hurt the Genesis Tree. We must fight for our lives.”_   
  
“That is a _very_ big Seru,” Hunk says. He doesn’t even try to disguise his panic as it starts ghosting towards them. “We couldn’t even hurt that one in the tunnel! How are we supposed to beat this one?”  
  
 _“Do not fear,”_ Nixa not-says. _“I will assist you. Have courage—we must win. Think of your family below. We can save them—fight for them!”_   
  
Hunk swallows. His teeth chatter and his whole body is shaking. But Nixa is right—as scary as that thing is, if they don’t beat it, everyone he’s ever known and loved is doomed. He has to at least try.   
  
So he pulls out his father’s cudgel, letting its weight settle in both hands. Beside him, Lance raises his bow, and nocks an arrow to the string. “I’m ready,” he says. “Let’s do this. For our families.”  
  
“Yeah,” Hunk agrees. “I’m ready.”  
  
Lance hits first, loosing his arrow ahead of the others as they run towards the Seru. The arrow hits it it one of its spiked shoulders, and clacks off harmlessly. Lance swears under his breath, and shoots it again, to the same effect. “I can’t hit it! It’s armored or something!”   
  
_“Then I will weaken its armor,”_ Nixa not-says. She leaps, mountain lion form yowling, and lands atop the Seru’s body. Her claws scrabble uselessly at its armor, but even as Hunk watches, her Ra-Seru crystal flashes. Little tendrils of frost creep out from beneath her claws. When she lashes out at it again, this time the Seru’s armor is more brittle from the cold, and her claws leave scores in one of its shoulders.  
  
The Seru whirls, and tries to gouge her with one of its own claws. Nixa leaps off of the creature, and it raises both arms, and something glimmers between them. A bolt of lightning slams down from the sky in Nixa’s direction, but she dodges nimbly, keeping the creature occupied.  
  
With the Seru distracted, it’s probably Hunk’s only chance. He’s terrified, but he runs up and smashes the creature soundly over the armor with his father’s cudgel.  
  
It breaks. The cudgel, not the armor. Hunk stares in shock at his father’s weapon, snapped in half. He’d made a sizable crack in the creature’s armor at it’s back where it had been frosted over, but not enough to break through to whatever vulnerable parts might be underneath.  
  
The Seru whirls. And it might not have a face capable of expression, but Hunk can tell it’s furious.   
  
He squeaks in fear, raising the broken half of the cudgel still in his hands defensively. The Seru looms over him, claws back to strike.  
  
 _“Hunk!”_ Lance yells. Two more arrows zip over Hunk’s head and slam into the creature’s body. But although this time they stick, digging into the brittle armor, they don’t slow the beast.   
  
The Seru’s claws come down—and at the same time, Nixa leaps over Hunk’s head with a vicious snarl, tackling the enemy Seru back. Hunk can feel the wind from the creature’s claws, and from her passing, and the Mist around them swirls as she smashes the Seru to the ground. She tears at it savagely with teeth and claws, and Hunk can see chunks of armor go flying.   
  
Hunk’s never been so relieved to have a Seru on his side.  
  
“Yes!” Lance cheers. “Get it! Take it down! You can do it, Nixa!”  
  
But the Seru is starting to recover after Nixa’s lightning-fast stun, and with a snarl, it starts to fight back. It’s pinned to the earth by her great paws, but its long arms and their wicked-looking claws are still free. It strikes, and Nixa howls as those claws gouge deep into her mountain lion side.   
  
She staggers back defensively, and the Seru strikes again, this time with more power as it wiggles its way upright. This time, the swing of its arms are strong enough to catch Nixa from underneath and send her flying. Nixa yowls as she’s thrown, and slams into a boulder not too distant, before thudding to the stones. When she struggles to get to her feet, one of her legs crumples beneath her, and she slumps back to the rock. Even from here, even at night, Hunk can see the dark wetness of blood all over the stones.  
  
“Nixa!” Lance yelps. He sounds terrified, and very worried. Hunk is, too. If that Seru can hurt even _Nixa_ like that, what chance do they have?  
  
 _“It is weak,”_ Nixa not-says in their head. She doesn’t really breathe and her voice can’t gasp, but Hunk can near how soft it sounds, how weak. She struggles to rise again, and her mountain-lion form collapses once more, unable to rise. _“Strike quickly, warriors…Rem is with you. For your families…”_   
  
Hunk’s not so sure about Rem, but Nixa _is_ right about one thing: the Seru is still scary as hell, but it’s been damaged pretty badly. Nixa had torn out plates of its brittle armor, and its chest and head are exposed and cracked. It doesn’t quite look like flesh beneath, but it’s not made of anything nearly as solid as it is on the outside. If they can just hit it, maybe…maybe they can beat it, even as mere humans.   
  
The question is, can they hit it at all?  
  
Hunk doesn’t even have a weapon anymore; the handle of the cudgel is useless. He casts around frantically for a weapon, and stammers, “Lance, can you…?”  
  
Lance nods, putting another arrow to the string and firing. But the Seru swerves to avoid, and starts ghosting towards them. One of its arms drops and begins to drag as Lance’s arrow hits it in the shoulder and the brittle armor there shatters, but it doesn’t stop coming. Lance tries again, and again the creature twists to puts the remains of its armor plating in the way, and keeps on coming.  
  
Hunk swallows. If that thing gets too close, Lance won’t be able to fire, and he’s the only one left with a weapon. If only the Seru would stay still long enough to hit it properly! Nixa had been able to hold it down, but she’s still slumped over against the stones, struggling to lift herself to her feet.  
  
If that Seru decimates them all here, it’s all over, for everyone. Hunk and Lance will be killed. They won’t be able to help resurrect the Genesis Tree, and it will die, and so will Nixa and her brother inside and all of the villagers below. This Seru might be scary, but Hunk doesn’t want that.  
  
So he yells, “Lance! I’m gonna get you an opening!” And he charges straight for the Seru.   
  
Lance squawks in surprise behind him. Hunk ignores it, and instead focuses on the Seru. He attacks it from the side where its arm is dragging; it’s possible he’ll get lucky.   
  
Hunk has never been what anyone calls agile. Lance can duck and weave and outrun him in any footrace, and Hunk’s never bothered to deny it. What he does have is strength, and momentum, and once he gets going, he’s very hard to stop. It’s why none of the other village kids will ever play chicken with him anymore—he wins, every time, usually by bowling the opposition over.  
  
So he uses that to his advantage now, and when the Seru turns to face him, he doesn’t try to dodge. Instead, he puts down his head, squares his shoulders, and full-out tackles the creature from the side, smashing it into a boulder.  
  
Perhaps it’s surprised by his attack. Hunk doesn’t know if Seru can feel surprise, or at least, not the normal ones. But Nixa had said this one wasn’t normal, and he’s pretty sure it doesn’t expect any human to bull-rush it. Normal, not-crazy humans run _away_ from Seru.   
  
So maybe it’s just surprise that lets him gain an advantage against the creature, but Hunk absolutely presses that advantage while he has it. He smashes the creature into the stone a second time, hoping to stun it. When it doesn’t strike at him immediately, he grabs its working arm and twists it back to pin it against the boulder as best as he can, and wraps his free hand around its neck. It doesn’t really have a throat, so he can’t put it in a chokehold, but he pulls it back enough to expose its broken chest.   
  
“Lance!” He hollers. _“Now!”_   
  
The Seru starts to recover its wits, and begins to thrash. It’s _strong,_ much stronger than Hunk, and even putting it in a restraining hold he can already feel it starting to overwhelm him. Its claws scrape at the rock and manage to get a good cut in his leg, even through his stone-lizard hide trousers. Hunk can’t hold on for more than a few seconds.  
  
But a few seconds are all it takes. Hunk hears the twang of a bow, many times in a row, and he can both feel and hear the sudden _thunk-thunk-thunk-thunk-thunk_ as Lance empties the rest of his quiver into the creature’s chest. Even in the dark, he can see the fletchings of Lance’s arrows bristling like an angry mad bird from the Seru’s front.   
  
The Seru shrieks once—a strangely inhuman and frightening sound. But then it starts to dissolve away, shattering into pieces as it crumbles apart. It turns to dust and sand in Hunk’s hands and scatters across the stones, and Lance’s many arrows clatter to the ground as they’re released.  
  
Hunk is stunned. “We _did_ it,” he says, shocked. They’d beaten a Seru. As _humans_. Even if that victory had only come with Nixa’s help, they’d still done it.   
  
“Nixa!” Lance yells. He throws his bow back across his shoulders and darts over to the mountain lion, crouching beside her. “Nixa…are you okay?”  
  
Hunk winces, feeling stupid for his moment of jubilation. They might have beaten the Seru, but the danger isn’t over yet. He limps his way over to Lance and Nixa, wincing whenever he puts his weight on the leg the Seru had managed to cut. It hadn’t gone deep enough to keep him from walking, but it still hurt.  
  
But when he gets to the others, he realizes his wound is trivial compared to Nixa’s. The mountain lion is hurt badly—her side has great big gouges in it from the Seru’s claws and bleeds sluggishly, and there are more deep gashes in her chest and belly and across one leg. If this was a normal mountain lion before the Mists came, any of the Crystalline hunters that came across it would have put it out of its misery; it would never hunt again, and would starve otherwise. But this isn’t just a mountain lion—it’s a Ra-Seru too, and that makes this so much worse.  
  
“Nixa?” Lance asks, frantic. He casts about for something to use to stop the bleeding and wrap the wounds, but they’re on the side of Balmera—there’s nothing to use. Hunk has some medical supplies in his pack—miraculously still on his back—but there’s too many injuries for those to handle. Lance rests his hand on the side of the great mountain lion’s head instead.  
  
 _“Help me…to the Genesis Tree,”_ Nixa’ not-voice comes. It’s weak, and very quiet, even in Hunk’s head. The blue gem stuck to the lion’s face is dull, with only a small, glimmering pulse on the inside. She’s very weak.  
  
 _She said if the mountain lion dies while she’s attached, she will, too,_ Hunk realizes, horrified. _She’s dying. And she got hurt saving my life. After all that…_  
  
But even so, Hunk doesn’t hesitate. He’s stronger than Lance, so he lifts the front half of the mountain lion as gently as he can, trying to avoid the injuries as much as possible. The mountain lion growls a little in pain anyway, but Hunk knows she won’t hurt him now. She’d saved his life, several times. He’ll help any way he can.  
  
Lance struggles to lift the lion’s back half, and Nixa’s back legs still drag along the stone. But Lance’s eyes are narrowed in determination, and Hunk knows he’ll do whatever he has to in order to save Nixa, too.   
  
They work together to bring Nixa to the base of the Genesis Tree, and set her down gently over its roots. “There,” Lance says. “Can…can you heal yourself with it? Or…are you going to move to me? Will that help?”  
  
 _“I cannot,”_ Nixa not-says. Her voice is very soft now. _“I am…too weak to transfer by myself…”_   
  
Lance’s expression twists into something full of pain. “But…but you said! You said I could help you fix the Genesis Tree…and then my family would be safe, and Hunk’s…!”   
  
_“I am too weak,”_ Nixa repeats. _“It takes great power to…transfer a host. I do not have that power now…but there may still be a way…”_   
  
“How?” Lance asks, frantic.  
  
 _“My brother…”_ Nixa all but whispers in their head.  
  
“The…the other Ra-Seru, in here?” Hunk asks, staring at the tree. “The one that you said, uh, might like me?”   
  
_“Yes,”_ Nixa not-whispers. _“I have just enough strength to waken him….if he can bond to you, he can awaken the Genesis Tree. If you succeed, I will have the power to bond to Lance…”_   
  
Hunk swallows. That means he’ll need to bond to a Ra-Seru of his own. Even if it was what he’d followed Nixa for, it’s still a frightening prospect. After all the Seru had done to their world, to his family, to Lance’s, the thought of accepting a Ra-Seru—one he’s never even met!—is a scary thought.  
  
But he thinks again of his family below, scared and fighting for their lives deep in the heart of Balmera. He thinks of Lance’s poor family, trapped on the pass for ten years as Seru-possessed monsters. He sees the pain and desperation in Lance’s eyes as he looks between Nixa and himself. And he remembers the way Nixa had saved him so many times, and risked her own life to protect them.   
  
It’s a strange decision, but it doesn’t feel like a wrong one. “Okay,” Hunk says. “Wake him up. Tell me what to do.”   
  
_“Place your hand against the Genesis Tree,”_ Nixa not-whispers in his head. _“Call to him. I will use the last of my power to help him wake…but you must help him too…”_   
  
Hunk nods, and presses both of his hands to the Genesis Tree. It feels smooth and surprisingly warm, and he can feel the pulse of weak energy at his fingertips, tugging at his heart or mind or something else unseen inside of him. Nixa’s blue crystal glows, and very distantly, Hunk can feel her power in the tree as well. It’s thready and weak—he can feel she doesn’t have long.  
  
So he swallows, and calls hesitantly, “Um…Ra-Seru? Are you there?”  
  
Something in the Genesis Tree stirs.  
  
It’s not physical movement. Hunk feels a new power on the edge of his mind at his call, at Nixa’s magical nudge. Something slow and ponderous that stirs in his head, drowsily rising to consciousness. Deep inside the Genesis Tree itself, a little knot of gold begins to glow, pulsing like a heartbeat.  
  
And then a voice slides into Hunk’s head. It’s quiet and tired at first, but it’s not Nixa’s; it sounds different in Hunk’s mind, feels distinct in a way he can’t really describe with normal senses. _Who wakes me? Who speaks?_  
  
Hunk waits for Nixa to introduce him, but Nixa is silent now. Her mountain lion host breathes harshly where she’s flopped against the roots of the withered Genesis Tree. Lance crouches over her and strokes her head repeatedly, but he doesn’t react either. The voice is speaking only to Hunk, he realizes.  
  
 _Um, me,_ he answers, this time in his head. And when he realizes that’s hardly an answer, he adds hastily, _I’m Hunk. I’m here with Nixa and my friend Lance. We need you to wake up so we can wake up this Genesis Tree and save my family and Lance’s and Nixa. She’s hurt bad._   
  
He’s babbling in his own head, he realizes, but there’s quite a lot of panic running through his mind, and he can’t really help it.  
  
But the Ra-Seru doesn’t seem to mind. His voice grows a little stronger as he slides more firmly into the realm of consciousness. When he speaks, he feels… _solid,_ in Hunk’s head. Like rock, sturdy and unbroken. Like Balmera Mountain itself is speaking to him. _A human,_ the Ra-Seru says. _A human of Balmera. A human of the Earth, but one who can hear a Ra-Seru. Yes, young warrior, I see you now. Thank you for waking me._  
  
 _Can you help?_ Hunk asks. All of his desperation pours into his thoughts. _Nixa said maybe you could bond to me. I’m still not really sure how I feel about Ra-Seru, but she said you could help me protect my family, and Lance’s, and the rest of the village, and she helped me so much she doesn’t deserve to die either. I want to protect them all. If you can help me with that, then I’ll do it._   
  
_Forthright,_ the Ra-Seru says in his head. It feels sturdy and slow, like it’s studying Hunk’s mind. _Clever but practical. Your heart is a shield. You are of the Earth for certain, the mountain of Balmera is in your bones. And more than enough courage to be had, even if you do not see it yet._ The Ra-Seru sounds almost amused in his head. _My sister certainly knows me well…even if her impulses appear to have gotten her into trouble. Yes, young warrior. I think the two of us will be an extraordinarily powerful team._  
  
 _Then you’ll help?_ Hunk asks, relieved.  
  
The golden pulse at the heart of the Genesis Tree grows stronger. _Yes, young warrior, I shall. I am Firma, Ra-Seru of the Deep Earth. Together we will protect where others cannot._  
  
 _That sounds good to me,_ Hunk says. _We have to revive the Genesis Tree. How do we do that?_  
  
 _Permit me to bond to you, and I will show you how. Hold out your arm._  
  
Even as Hunk watches, the golden heartbeat inside the tree slides towards him through the strange gem-like bark of the Genesis Tree. As it finally phases through the last of the tree to float in the air before him, Hunk realizes this Ra-Seru is a crystal too, just like Nixa. This one is a pretty golden-yellow, but like Nixa, it has a tiny red gem at its very center, like a single eye.   
  
So this is a Ra-Seru in its primary form. This is _his_ Ra-Seru. His partner.   
  
No turning back now—and Hunk finds he’s not really scared anymore. The thought of bonding with a Ra-Seru had been a little frightening, but this Ra-Seru— _Firma,_ he’d said—just feels right. It’s like he’s a voice of the mountain, a part of the home Hunk has lived in all his life. He feels solid and dependable, and like a shield of stone, ready to protect the world on his divine mission. Hunk gets that. It all makes sense in his head, and he can feel Firma’s sincerity.   
  
So he holds out his left hand for the Ra-Seru.  
  
Firma floats to his wrist, and presses down against Hunk’s skin. The crystal feels surprisingly warm, and then it begins to grow. For just a moment, Hunk feels a slight pressure against his mind as Firma’s consciousness blurs with his own, but then it’s over.   
  
He glances down at his wrist, and gasps. He’d half expected to just have the Ra-Seru mounted on his wrist in his crystal form, like Nixa on the mountain lion’s face. But Firma doesn’t look anything like that. Instead, the Ra-Seru has become a thick, bulky bracer, with a domed shape that curls protectively over Hunk’s fist like some kind of knuckle-guard, and a red gem centered right over the center of his wrist. The back half of the Ra-Seru forms more of a spade shape that runs halfway up Hunk’s forearm, wide enough to be like a small shield. Firma feels solid and comfortably warm, and looks for all the world like he’s made of carved stone, but he still feels light and maneuverable on Hunk’s wrist. Attacking anything dangerous would be like punching it with a small rock mounted on his fist, and probably just as effective, but Firma would make for an equally powerful defense, too.   
  
_We are shields,_ Firma says in his mind. _We must be built as such, to protect. And now, we must  do so._  
  
Lance looks up from where he’s still stroking Nixa’s mountain lion head, and his brows both raise in surprise. “Wow,” he says. “Hunk, is that the Ra-Seru from this tree?”  
  
 _He didn’t hear the conversation we had at all,_ Hunk realizes.  
  
 _No,_ Firma agrees. _I kept it private, as team mates._   
  
But then the Ra-Seru on Hunk’s arm glows a soft gold, and Firma says in a way that Hunk can just _feel_ is to everyone, _“I am Firma. Greetings, Lance. I can feel you are an excellent match for my sister. Nixa—have strength for just a few moments longer, sister.”_  
  
 _“Brother…”_ Nixa not-murmurs. Her not-voice is so soft Hunk almost thinks he imagines it.  
  
“Can you save her?” Lance asks, frantic.  
  
 _“I can save the Genesis Tree, and that will save her,”_ Firma says. _“But I will need the assistance of both of you to do so. Put your hands to the Genesis Tree. Offer it your hopes and prayers. Thoughts, beliefs, hopes—they are powerful things, the foundation of man’s spirit. We will use them to save the Genesis Tree.”_   
  
Lance nods, and strokes Nixa’s head one last time. “Just hold on,” he says. “We’re gonna save you now, okay? Just hang on.”  
  
 _“Compassion,”_ Nixa not-whispers. _“You are very strong, Lance…”_   
  
Hunk swallows. He hopes they’ll be in time. But Firma all but radiates confidence—and not the overconfidence of someone being brash and boasting. This is the solid, absolute confidence of someone who knows things will work out, and has no fear of the alternatives. And that’s comforting, enough for Hunk to settle his anxious thoughts and press his left hand, and Firma, against the Genesis Tree.  
  
Hunk doesn’t have any religious prayers to offer, as such. So he gives the Genesis Tree his devotion, instead. His desire to protect his family, his friends, and to see them safe. His desire to help Lance, and help Nixa. His hope that they can find Lance’s parents, after. He just wants everyone to be safe, and free, and he wants to do whatever he can to make sure that happens, and he pours all of that into the tree. Beside him, Lance has both hands pressed to the tree, and his eyes are closed tightly shut in concentration, but Hunk knows his friend his focusing on his own hopes and dreams, too.   
  
And after a moment, Firma begins to glow a soft gold. Hunk can feel raw power from the Ra-Seru, and he can feel Firma catching his thoughts and Lance’s hopes, and turning them into pure power and energy. He feeds that into the Genesis Tree, and the Genesis Tree absorbs it all hungrily, desperate for that energy to fend off the dangerous powers of the Mist.   
  
And suddenly, the Genesis Tree begins to glow—and grow. It pulses brilliantly white, and its withered trunk begins to grow thicker and taller, reaching for the stars above. The broken branches repair, and stretch out overhead, creating a comfortable canopy above them. And brilliant, jewel-bright leaves, leaves that glitter even in the darkness and starlight, begin to bloom all over the tree.  
  
The tree pulses again, and a pillar of brilliant light rises into the sky. Hunk can feel waves of energy begin to emit from the tree, washing over them. It feels like _life,_ to Hunk, warm and comfortable and peaceful. Even as he watches, the Mist burns away around them, and the haze that covers Balmera Mountain vanishes. And he doesn’t need to see it to know the cave tunnels at the heart of Balmera are free of the cloying Mist, too.  
  
They’re _free._ After ten long years, a miracle has happened, and they are finally free of the Mist.  
  
 _“The tree has awakened,”_ Firma not-says to all of them. _“The attacking Seru will have been destroyed. Sister—it is time. Hurry.”_  
  
 _“Yes,”_ Nixa says. The mountain lion’s breaths are still harsh, but Nixa’s not-voice is a little stronger now. _“Lance…your arm. Hurry…”_   
  
Lance doesn’t hesitate. He reaches out, and touches the blue gem on the great cat’s forehead. There’s a flash of light when his fingers touch, and the Genesis Tree pulses with power in tandem, and then the gem on the mountain lion’s face is gone. Instead, Lance’s right hand now has a strange blue crystalline glove, delicately covering each one of his fingers, with a red gem set exactly in the center of the back of his hand.   
  
“Woah,” he says, lifting his right hand, and turning it back and forth to stare at it. He flexes each of his fingers in turn, but seems to have no problem manipulating it. “I didn’t know you could be a glove like this, Nixa. Am I still going to be able to shoot?”  
  
 _“Yes,”_ Nixa answers. Her not-voice sounds strong in Hunk’s head again. _“In fact, you will be able to handle more powerful bows with my strength…and I may even be able to empower your arrows with my own element.”_   
  
“Nice!” Lance says, grinning. But then he sobers, and looks down at the mountain lion, still laying on her side at the foot of the Genesis Tree. “But what about her?”  
  
Hunk feels sorry for the poor creature, too. She hadn’t asked for this. She was just a creature of Balmera.   
  
But Nixa not-says, _“Do not mourn for her. My presence already allowed her to live far longer than she should have normally. She is very old. Her time would come soon. And she is satisfied for defeating that creature, and protecting her home.”_  
  
 _“She is a strong creature of the Earth,”_ Firma agrees. _“But perhaps for her service Tieg will honor her in a different way, sister. With our intervention.”_  
  
 _“An excellent idea, brother,”_ Nixa not-says. _“Lance, Hunk—we will do her one last honor, with the grace of the Genesis Tree to assist. Place your hands to the Tree.”_   
  
They do. The Genesis Tree feels much warmer beneath Hunk’s hand than it did before, so much more full of life. He wonders what it can do for the dying mountain lion.  
  
He gets his answer soon enough. The Ra-Seru both glow—Firma a soft gold, Nixa a brilliant blue—and the Genesis Tree glows in turn. Its roots beneath the mountain lion pulse, and as the creature breathes its last breath, it dissolves into a swirl of sparks. The little lights dance skyward, and even as Hunk watches, stunned, they take their places in the sky above, settling into place forever in the heavens.  
  
“You…you made her a constellation!” Lance says, shocked.   
  
_“She will hunt in the heavens for all of time,”_ Nixa agrees. _“It is a gift she will happily accept.”_   
  
Hunk’s throat feels thick, and he knows in about ten seconds he’s going to start bawling, but even so he grins shakily at Lance. “Well,” he says thickly, “at least you know one constellation now, right?”  
  
“The Lion,” Lance agrees, with a sniffle. “Yeah. That’s an important one, alright. I hope she likes it up there.”  
  
 _“She will,”_ Nixa promises. _“Now, let us attend to your home.”_   
  
They leave the Genesis Tree behind—it’s awake now, and no Seru would be able to destroy it, powerful as it is. They pause only long enough to bind Hunk’s leg with some of the supplies from his pack so he won’t bleed everywhere. Then, still sniffling a little, they both head back to the tunnel they’d exited from, heading back down into the heart of the mountain. Lance hesitates for just a moment, though, turning to look back at the stars.  
  
“Hey,” Hunk says. “You’ll be able to see them again. Whenever you want, even. And the clouds and grass and all that other stuff. We finally got rid of the Mist.”  
  
“Yeah,” Lance says. “Yeah, you’re right. It’s not impossible anymore. I can come right back out once we make sure everyone is okay.” That seems to settle his resolve, and he nods as he turns back into the cavern.  
  
There are no more Seru in the tunnels on the way back to Deep Crystal. There are some of the deep earth creatures—stone lizards and mad birds, mostly—but they flee at the sight of the Ra-Seru and the humans. In time they’ll settle back into a new routine, but things have changed, and the creatures know better than to tangle with them. For now, it makes passage back home safe.  
  
Deep Crystal is in a state of disarray when they return home, but the Seru are gone, at least, and Hunk can’t see his breath anymore as he walks into the cavern. People are still hurt though, and many of the villagers were killed in the attack. Some homes had been destroyed, and the Temple of Rem had been desecrated on at least one side, to Hunk’s disgust.  
  
But the cavern itself is safe, and the attack is done. Lance and Hunk make their way to the center of the village, helping where they can. At least half of the time is spent reassuring villagers that the Ra-Seru they wear are perfectly safe, and the reason for the Mist’s departure and the Seru’s destruction. People are skeptical, but Hunk and Lance are still clearly themselves, and the Seru had vanished. And when they finally find the village leader at the Temple of Rem, and explain themselves, the leader puts an end to any questions.   
  
“There’s no doubt that the Seru were defeated,” the leader says. “Deep Crystal was full of Mist, but a flow of energy came through and destroyed it and the Seru. If you two caused that to happen, then I have nothing but gratitude for you both. Even _if_ the two of you snuck out without authorization, and nearly lost your lives in the process,” he finishes, voice lecturing.   
  
_“Such impulsiveness saved them,”_ Nixa almost seems to sniff.   
  
_“Such impulsiveness nearly got them killed, and you as well, sister,”_ Firma reminds them. _“Their leader is right to worry.”_  
  
 _“You are no fun, brother,”_ Nixa complains. Once they’ve turned away from the leader—who can’t hear the conversation—Lance can’t help but grin.   
  
It’s at the Temple of Rem that they find Hunk’s parents too. He’d been sure if they would be anywhere in all this, they’d be helping the wounded, and his guess had been right. Both of them are blessedly alive and safe, and the moment they catch sight of Hunk and Lance, they both come running. Hunk’s father wraps him up tightly in a fierce bear hug—Hunk had gotten his hugs from his father—and Hunk embraces him back just as tightly. His mother has her arms around Lance less than a heartbeat later, and he clings in return, smiling with relief.  
  
“We were so worried!” Hunk’s mother says, frantic. “Are you okay? You’re not hurt?” She releases Lance to hold his face in both hands, searching for injuries.   
  
Beside them, Hunk’s father starts looking his son over as well, and tuts in dismay. “Your leg,” he says. “Come here, sit down on one of the benches, and we’ll take care of that. What happened?”  
  
“A lot,” Lance says with a laugh, as Hunk sits down gratefully and lets his father unwrap his hasty first aid. “There’s a lot to explain. I’m so glad you guys are safe…”  
  
They tell the whole story, from start to finish. Neither of Hunk’s parents are pleased at the two of them sneaking out, and make it very clear. But when they hear the rest of the story, they grow less severe, and by the end, they’re quite thankful. Hunk’s mother even thanks the Ra-Seru, although she can’t hear their replies.   
  
_“People of the Earth,”_ Firma not-says. He sounds pleased. _“Practical, good people. You have good family, Hunk. Worth protecting. I am honored to assist.”_   
  
Hunk can’t help but grin at that. “Firma says you’re welcome,” Hunk translates, raising his left hand.   
  
“Nixa, too,” Lance says, waving his own right hand.   
  
Once Hunk is taken care of, they do what they can to help with the recovery, all through the night. Many people had been injured in the attack, or trapped in their stone houses when they collapsed. Several of the smaller caverns where food had been grown had been crushed, and many of their stores destroyed. Others had been injured in battles against the Seru, and needed to be brought back to the Temple of Rem for care. It’s tough work, but necessary—and Hunk finds it’s easier than ever with Firma. He feels stronger with the Ra-Seru bound to him, and more enduring. Like he could work for hours with lifting stones and carrying people without tiring.   
  
_The Earth is where we are always strongest, Hunk,_ Firma says in his head. _Never forget that._  
  
 _I’ll remember,_ Hunk promises.   
  
But although so many had been injured, and many others had died, there is good news. Shay’s family had survived, Hunk is grateful to see. Most of the village had pulled through in one way or another. And they weren’t bound to Deep Crystal, anymore, which gave many people hope. The more they spread the message that the Mist is gone, that it’s safe to return to Crystalline, the stronger people seem to become. This is a hardship, but they will weather it and grow stronger, just like the mountain itself.   
  
_People of the Earth,_ Firma thinks. _Strong and enduring._   
  
Hunk can’t argue with that.  
  
But perhaps the most memorable moment comes just before dawn. Hunk’s not actually sure that it is just before dawn—his mother’s little clock had been smashed in the attack. But Firma says the sun will rise soon, and the town is organized enough that those in the greatest danger are being cared for. And that’s when Lance comes to him, and his mother and father, and asks them to come with him to the surface.  
  
“I want to find my family,” he says. “Nixa knows where they are. She’ll lead me. But you’ve all been my family too for the past ten years, and…”   
  
“We’ll absolutely come with you, sweetheart,” Hunk’s mother says. His father nods. “We’d love to see them again, after all this time. And they might need some help, too.”  
  
Hunk’s family, like Hunk himself, is inherently practical. His mother holds them until she can pack some medical supplies, food and water, and some blankets, and the four of them share out the load in their packs. They don’t know what state Lance’s family will be in, but it pays to be prepared.   
  
It takes a while for Nixa to lead them to the surface, this time. This way is less travelled, and takes them to a place on Balmera where they can reach the pass. Once they do, the way is clearer. The pass hasn’t been travelled in ten years, and it’s a little messy from collapsed trees or broken stones, but it’s still traversable.   
  
The sun starts to rise as they travel, painting the sky reds and yellows, and it’s one of the most beautiful things Hunk’s seen in more than ten years. If the situation weren’t so urgent, he’d be in awe.  
  
There are way-stations all along the pass for travelers to rest or stay the night safely, and many of these are broken down or collapsed entirely. But the one Nixa leads them to is still relatively intact, and blocked closed with a rock—and as they get closer, they can hear banging on the door, and people calling for assistance.  
  
“That’s—that’s my mom,” Lance says, eyes wide. “That’s— _mom! Dad!”_   
  
Lance rushes to the way-station. Hunk runs after, and he and Firma shove the large rock blocking the door aside with ease, letting the people trapped inside out. The family stumbles out into dawn light, squinting slightly, but they freeze when they see Lance and the others.  
  
“Mom?” Lance whispers. “Dad? E…everyone?”  
  
“Is…is that you, Lance?” his mother asks, stunned. As more of the family start to pour out of the building, Lance’s brothers and sisters, mostly, Hunk suddenly understands the confusion. Nobody looks like they’ve aged a day. He remembers Lance’s oldest brother Marco seeming impossibly old and mature at the age of fourteen. Now he recognizes Marco, but he’s at least three years younger than Lance and Hunk.   
  
_“Seru that possess humans will keep them from aging, in the Mist,”_ Firma explains. _“They truly have not aged since that day. But you and Lance have felt the passage of ten years. That is the difference.”_   
  
Gods. No wonder his family is so confused. The last time they’d seen Lance, he’d been seven, not seventeen.   
  
But after a moment they seem to understand, and Lance’s mother surges forward, wrapping her arms tightly around her son. _“Lance,”_ she says. “Lance, my little Lance—I was so worried—you disappeared, and the Mist—“  
  
“I’m alright, mom,” Lance says, as his father wraps his arms around the both of them. He’s crying and laughing all at once. “I’m alright, I promise—Nixa saved me—and Hunk’s family took care of me—but I missed you so much, all of you—“  
  
The rest of the family crowds close, and Lance is all but lost from sight in the small horde of siblings and extended family. Hunk can feel himself sniffling again as he stands next to his parents, both of whom are a little teary-eyed themselves. They don’t intrude on the family reunion, although Hunk helps his mother start unpacking the supplies.   
  
Eventually the family stops clinging to each other so desperately, and clamors for answers. Why is Lance so big? Why does he have a Seru? Is that _really_ the innkeeper and his family? What _happened?_ How long have they been possessed?  
  
Lance answers all their questions, still excited but sniffling, as Hunk and his family pass out the supplies. The family is hungry and cold and in some cases injured, although minor, and they get to work tending to them as best as possible. Lance’s parents thank Hunk’s profusely for looking after their son for ten years, and Hunk’s parents insist there was never even a question about it; he’d needed the help.   
  
“You’re welcome to stay in Deep Crystal, of course,” Hunk’s mother says. “We’re working on moving back to Crystalline, but it will take a little while to get supplies ready and things rebuilt. Our home is yours for now.”   
  
Lance’s family accepts gratefully. They gather up Lance’s siblings and start to herd them back down into the shelter of Balmera and Deep Crystal. It’s a bewildering experience, giving a piggy-back ride to one Lance’s little sisters that used to be only a year younger than him, and is now much smaller. Lance seems to think the same—he’s still a middle child, but physically and mentally he’s now the oldest, and it has to be awkward. But he looks after his siblings too, giving his sister Veronica a piggy-back as well as he chatters on and on to his family about his life for the past ten years.  
  
The family settles in to Deep Crystal. The villagers clean up the caverns, and after a few days, start setting up to move back to Crystalline. Scouts have already been down to the old town, and although some of the buildings are falling apart, and animals or Seru have destroyed other parts, it will be habitable again with a little work. The people of Deep Crystal are no strangers to a little work, and work they do, getting ready to retake their old home with their hard-won new freedom.  
  
Lance spends almost all of his time with his family. Hunk doesn’t blame him; he’s got ten years of missing them to catch up on. Hunk helps with preparing for the move, and learning new things from Firma. His Ra-Seru isn’t simple—he’s quite intelligent, actually, for a weird other-worldly crystal-being—but he does like honest, practical work, and an honest, practical lifestyle.   
  
But eventually, Lance breaks away from his family, several days after the Mist is finally driven back, and tracks down Hunk. “Getting ready for the move, huh?” he asks.  
  
Hunk shrugs. “Firma and I can do a lot of work that other people can’t. We may as well help out. And it’ll be nice to go back home. To the real home, that is.” He wonders if the inn can be salvaged. If his room is still there, with all his old things. It’ll be nice to see it again.  
  
There’s silence, for a moment. Then Lance says quietly, “I don’t think we can do that.”  
  
Hunk pauses. “You and your family?”  
  
“No. They’re planning to stay in Crystalline when the rest of the town moves. The city we were going to go to ten years ago is probably still full of Mist. It wouldn’t be safe.”  
  
 _“They’re_ planning?” Hunk asks, frowning. “You’re not staying with them?”  
  
Lance is silent for a while, but finally he says again, “I don’t think we can. Not with Nixa and Firma.”   
  
Nixa glows softly on Lance’s hand as she not-speaks. _“We have saved this place, and your people, and healed one Genesis Tree. But there are many, many others out there that must also be awakened, and many humans that still suffer from the Mist.”_   
  
Hunk stares. “And…and that’s our job? Aren’t there other Ra-Seru that can do that?”   
  
_“Our duty is to protect the world in its time of need,”_ Firma not-says. “ _That is the task Tieg gave us. That is the task we must fulfill. All people must be protected.”_  
  
 _“But not all Ra-Seru may have survived,”_ Nixa not-says. _“Or they may be like me—waiting for enough power to do as they must.”_  
  
 _“Or like me,”_ Firma not-says. _“Trapped so deeply in slumber they need help to wake.”_   
  
“And you want to go?” Hunk says, stunned, as he stares at Lance. “You…you just got your family back! After ten years!”  
  
“I don’t _want_ to go,” Lance says, glumly. “I don’t want to leave them. But…I just keep thinking. There’s probably tons of other people just like me out there. Split from their families. Wondering where they are. And…and if somebody else out there had the power to help free _my_ family before now, and they didn’t do it? I’d be so angry. So…”  
  
 _So we can’t keep this power to ourselves,_ Hunk hears. And…well, Lance isn’t wrong. Firma might be bound to him, and helped him protect his family. But Firma is made to protect _all_ life, and that’s what he needs to do. It’s not really Hunk’s power, even if they’re partners. He has the power to make a difference, with Firma. If he didn’t, and other people suffered because of that? Well, he’d probably never forgive himself.   
  
_Child of the Earth,_ Firma not-says quietly, just to him. _It is a hard choice. But you are enduring, and righteous, and kind. And I will be with you always. We will protect all those that need saving, together._   
  
Hunk swallows, but then he nods. “I think…I think you’re right. If we could do something and didn’t…that wouldn’t be right. But…what do we _do?_ Do we even know where the next Genesis Tree is?”   
  
“We can ask my family,” Lance says. “Or yours. Or the village leader. We can figure it out, somehow. But we have to be willing to try.”   
  
“Yeah. Yeah, we’ll…we’ll figure something out,” Hunk agrees. _But it’s going to be tough to leave._ But if they can reunite more families, free more people…then maybe it will all be worth it.   
  


* * *

  
  
Three days later, Lance and Hunk set out from Deep Crystal to begin their journey.  
  
They have rough directions to a city on the other side of the mountain, where a Genesis Tree is supposed to be located. They aren’t sure if the rumors are true, but it’s worth trying, at least. There will be dangers aplenty, and even more Seru, but Nixa and Firma assure them they will be safe. They have dominion over the Seru, and can even absorb their magic, if needed. Firma says Hunk has quite a wellspring of natural magical talent and ability, should he so desire to use it, and Lance and Nixa have already been practicing empowering his arrows with her cutting ice powers for extra damage in a fight.   
  
They’ll be fine. They’ll make it. Their families had been sad to see them go, but they’d understood, too. This was not a power Crystalline could keep to itself, not when so many others needed it. Hunk’s parents had packed them supplies for the journey, and found Hunk a better weapon. Lance’s parents had given them a few traveling charms, and coin, all the money they could spare from their attempt to move. Deep Crystal had little money to spare, but if they managed to free places from the Mist, gold would still be invaluable.   
  
There had been hugs and tears and well-wishing from everyone in Deep Crystal as they set off. Hunk had bawled so much he could barely see through his tears, but even so, he’d known this was for the best. They could save. They could protect. And maybe with their help, the world would be free of Mist once again.  
  
They set off for the next piece of their adventure as the sun rises once more, painting the sky spectacularly brilliant reds and golds. Balmera Mountain stands sturdy and proud above them, an eternal guardian watchful and protective. Whatever happens, Hunk knows, his family will be safe here. And as long as he’s with Firma, and Lance and Nixa, he’s sure they can endure anything. 

**Author's Note:**

> I actually have ideas for the other characters, too. I wanted to get to them, but sadly didn't have the time to finish. I may come back to this fic and add more. :)


End file.
